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A Land of Heart's Desire
A Land of Heart's Desire (The Seventh Child Series/Joy Pennock Gage.
132 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1991
About the author
Joy P. Gage
18 books5 followersJoy Gage knew she wanted to be a writer from age 8. After graduating from Biola in 1950 with a degree in Christian education, she began her writing career by submitting articles to Christian magazines. Gage has since published several books. Some of Gage’s books were inspired by witnessing families’ struggles within the church. Her most popular title has been When Parents Cry, a book for those struggling with rebellious children. She has also written four books on the life of Moses and five fiction books set during wartime. “When you see the sales report and you know ... people are buying it and you’re touching lives somehow through sitting at home behind a typewriter or a computer, that has been extremely rewarding,” Gage said. The Gages had three daughters, one deceased, and have three grand- daughters.
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July 21, 2015
It is 1854, and Mary Ann Brean Chidester, age 46 and the seventh child in the Brean family, lives with her husband William John, age 48, on the Brean family farm run by her bachelor brother George at White Creek in Indiana. The Chidesters have had seven sons. Two are dead. Three have moved to Missouri and now have families of their own. Russell, 26, has a lame arm as a result of an accident and lives at home. And their youngest, 21 year old Lee William, has married Lucy Tate and after losing their first two sons now has a baby girl named Arial. William John is a schoolteacher, but the neighbors decide to close the local school.
Then one day, someone steals William John’s horse. He and Lucy’s father, Jubal Tate, track it to Missouri, and both men return to Indiana determined to move to Dogwood Creek, MO. So the whole family packs up for their new home. Four years pass. Lee William and Lucy have two more daughters, Amy and Anna Marie, but lose another baby son, Joseph. Then William John, who not only opens a school on Dogwood Creek but also begins to hold preaching services in the school on Sundays, dies quite suddenly, and MaryAnn becomes very bitter about having left her home in Indiana and now losing her husband. What will she and her family do? And will there ever be a grandson to carry on William John’s dreams? Set in the days leading up to the Civil War, this novel has a lot of discussion about the politics of the day in addition to the fascinating story of the Chidester family.
Apparently, the book is loosely based on the ancestors of the author Joy P. Gage’s father who was the seventh child of the seventh son of the seventh child. Also, the author’s great-grandmother was named MaryAnn. There is one reference to using tobacco, but a lot of emphasis is placed on praying to the Lord, reading the Bible, trusting in God, and learning to accept one’s circumstances. Be prepared to shed some tears, but you can expect a triumphant and satisfying conclusion. The other two books in the series are Lee William’s Quest and A Waiting Legacy. Perhaps a few areas of A Land of Heart’s Desire that are a little hard to follow will be explained a little more clearly in the sequels.
Then one day, someone steals William John’s horse. He and Lucy’s father, Jubal Tate, track it to Missouri, and both men return to Indiana determined to move to Dogwood Creek, MO. So the whole family packs up for their new home. Four years pass. Lee William and Lucy have two more daughters, Amy and Anna Marie, but lose another baby son, Joseph. Then William John, who not only opens a school on Dogwood Creek but also begins to hold preaching services in the school on Sundays, dies quite suddenly, and MaryAnn becomes very bitter about having left her home in Indiana and now losing her husband. What will she and her family do? And will there ever be a grandson to carry on William John’s dreams? Set in the days leading up to the Civil War, this novel has a lot of discussion about the politics of the day in addition to the fascinating story of the Chidester family.
Apparently, the book is loosely based on the ancestors of the author Joy P. Gage’s father who was the seventh child of the seventh son of the seventh child. Also, the author’s great-grandmother was named MaryAnn. There is one reference to using tobacco, but a lot of emphasis is placed on praying to the Lord, reading the Bible, trusting in God, and learning to accept one’s circumstances. Be prepared to shed some tears, but you can expect a triumphant and satisfying conclusion. The other two books in the series are Lee William’s Quest and A Waiting Legacy. Perhaps a few areas of A Land of Heart’s Desire that are a little hard to follow will be explained a little more clearly in the sequels.
Displaying 1 of 1 review