According to the Pattern

by Grace Livingston Hill

When Miriam Winthrop becomes convinced that her husband is having an affair with another woman, she strives to become fashionable in order to win back his love

Genres: Christian Fiction, Romance, Christian, Fiction, Christian Romance, Historical Fiction

186 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1903

About the author

also wrote under the pseudonym Marcia MacDonald
also published under the name Grace Livingston Hill Lutz

A popular author of her day, she wrote over 100 novels and numerous short stories of religious and Christian fiction. Her characters were most often young female ingénues, frequently strong Christian women or those who become so within the confines of the story.

niece to Isabella MacDonald Alden

Reviews

[Franny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1903, and available on Kindle, this is the most unusual book that I've ever read by Grace Livingston Hill It's definately a romance, but far from tender. The book held me in its grip from the beginning, leaving me alive with sorrow and anger. It was sickening to see the way the rich and famous thought it nothing to break up a marriage, and that just through a dalliance. The action was tense throughout the whole book, with just a very very few tender monents thrown in. It sure showed me how easy it is to lose your marriage, or even your life, through a moment of stupidity or indiscretion. It also made me pretty thoughtful over what a marriage should really be, and what to watch out for. A timely lesson for us all.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is honestly the worst GLH book I've ever read. There were some weirder ones, some ones with poorer writing, but this one takes the award for being the worst.

I'll give you the bullet points:

~ Wife sees her husband with another woman. She realizes that he has developed a wandering eye. Her conclusion? She is to blame because she isn't social, has been caught up with her children, and hasn't worked on making herself beautiful. (This is a HORRIBLE message for women)
~ The husband and wife DON'T TALK. So much needless drama would have been solved with ONE conversation. It didn't even make sense why they didn't.
~ The husband instantly sees the error of his ways when his wife turns pretty. (this is me screaming into a pillow)
~ Woman sees something that troubles her, faints, and then is in a delerious fever from the strain. *eye roll*
~ The gospel message was quick and poorly done. Honestly, this is usually where GLH shines. I love how she puts the gospel into each of her stories, but she flopped with this one.

Needless to say, I won't be rereading this one and don't recommend this book to anyone.

[Terry Yaceyko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story.

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something in me wants to give this book a full five stars, because of how happy I was upon finishing it. However, I made myself recall the beginning of the book, where I was so disgusted--so much so that I had no pleasure reading it. In fact, I read this quickly just so I could escape the beginning. But that ending was really worth it, so ... I can't complain.

Setting: Fairly vague, as both the geography and the time period are unstated; but as the book was published in 1903, a contemporaneous setting seems likely, and the story has a New England--I thought New Jersey, specifically--feel. Cars are nonexistent--the mode of transportation was solely carriages. References to others are by title-last name (Mrs. Winthrop, Senator Brandenburg) unless intentionally intimate, particularly inappropriately. Even a wife refers to her husband as "Mr. so-and-so" to another. So very refreshing. The entire book is also set in society--no country life here! The author's disdain is palpable, and I love it, but she uses it well.

Characters: For about the first half, there are four major characters, and I basically hate them all. Miriam, not so much, but she does pursue her goal in an incorrect manner, and focuses way too much on worldly things. In the second half of the book, the cast of characters is widened slightly (introducing or re-introducing likable characters), and Miriam and Claude are moved from hateful to loved people. It's a huge leap. Claude becomes so loved that the hatefulness of the first half is completely overcome. G.L. Hill knows how to reflect the love of God, that's for sure. But she's not innocent towards the evil traps of witchy women. The warnings of Proverbs were sounding alarms in my head the entire book's first half.

Plot: It's not a romance in the usual sense, as the main characters are already married. But it has plenty of romantic elements, albeit in the purest way (G.L. Hill style). The lustful temptations are also portrayed heavily but in a likewise chaste way; the reader's imagination can add anything, but no inappropriate details are presented. The plot itself has a great progression, if a bit cliché. The beginning builds up--so much so that I thought, "the ending has to be done really well for me to like the book." And the ending is so complete and smooth that I thought, "the ending really made up for the distasteful beginning." The conclusion wraps up remarkable neatly, it is true, but in a way so as to highlight the nature of God and His promises.

Writing: So lyrical, so poetic, so ... emphatic. The writing is what manipulates my emotions; I believe the writing is what made me so unhappy reading the book--not because the author does anything wrong, but because she portrays the reality of an unfaithful spouse (and the lack of communication) so clearly and bluntly.

Faith Content: Absolutely beautiful. So many Christian reviews laud other books that supposedly show the loving truth of God, but I don't believe many can quite compare to this. Grace Livingston Hill writes the story to display the lowest, most cowardly lows of a person, the most despicable of actions--but with no lurid details--and than contrasts it with the forgiving love and grace of God. Yes, by the end of the book I cried. And then I was just grinning from ear to ear. What a lesson this book contains!

[Lisa Rathbun]

Bad cover art - not representative of the time period of the story.



This is one of my favorite Hill books. Yes, overwrought, dramatic, and dated, but a touching story of a distraught wife who seeks to win her husband back from his infatuation. I found it realistic in how the other woman doesn't easily let him go and how he at first finds it hard to stay away from her even though he knows he should. The end is terrifically sentimental, but still enjoyable.

[Gypsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miriam discovers that her husband, Claude, has become infatuated with a glamourous society woman, Mrs. Sylvester. In fear of what might happen to her and her three children if her marriage should fail, Miriam decides to fight back by becoming as elegant and sophisticated as Mrs. Sylvester. In the meantime, Claude regrets his association with Mrs. Sylvester, but. aware that Miriam knows, is uncertain if she can ever forgive him and love him again. When serious illness strikes, Miriam and Claude, with the help of a young seminary student, find peace and hope through a new-found faith.

This early twentieth-century novel is a gentle read though often tense, with an overt Christian message. While not a first-class writer, Hill was an extremely popular author, and, as with this book, her plots are easy to follow, mostly realistic, and inspirational. The reader expects the happy outcome, but the journey there is filled with enough crises, both emotional and actual, to keep the story interesting. Of course, the mores and values will seem odd to some twenty-first century readers, but I enjoyed the flavor of genuine turn-of-the-century American melodrama.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story touched my heart deeply. I love how our heroine goes about arming herself for the war to save her marriage. It was good to see that her breakdown brought her husband to see himself as he truly was; and that he yielded to God for saving instead of going his own way. I hope a few of the characters show up in other GLH books. As I have not yet read them all, I don’t know.

[Eddie Bennett]

another good book by Mrs. Hill

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit overly dramatic even compared to her others.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book

This book is longer and more detailed than most of her books. You can feel the intense emotions as if you were her.

[Ann DuFresne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book cruddy edition

So many typos! Too bad the proofreaders were not doing their job. Not even a good spellcheck. Still is a good book tho

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of slow and extremely melodramatic, but it was still all right.

[Anna Jackson · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, I will say that this book probably doesn't deserve a 1 star review. It probably deserves a 2 or 3 star review, but as I personally didn't like it at all, I'm rating this not on literary merit, but on personal preference. And as GLH novels are not typically rated on their literary merit anyway, I feel justified in doing this.

I absolutely abhor books where the characters cheat on their spouses. I hate hate hate cheating and I hate reading about it. And that is the plot of this book. Spouse cheats, wife tries to win him back, they both find Christ and their marriage is saved.

While I appreciate the fact that Christ can and does save lives and marriages, I dislike reading about it. I'm not a person who would taking cheating well, and honestly, I'm not sure I am strong enough to forgive my husband if he would do that. (Luckily for me, he is not that type of person. Loyal as an old dog, but way cuter.) And honestly, the reconciliation scenes were very well written - the husband did not get off scott free and the wife did not immediate forgive and forget. It was a very realistic time line all together it was very nicely done.

However...I still hated it. I hated that the wife immediately thought she should "win him back" without talking to him. I hate that she felt like she had to stoop to spending her children's inheritance in order to get better clothes and to decorate the house and invite society to tea. I absolutely hated the complete lack of communication between anyone about anything in this novel! And honestly, that's probably what I hate most about the whole cheating scenario and plot. It implies a complete lack of communication. I LOVE communication to the extreme. I talk too much, and I ask too many questions, but I always always always communicate with my husband. To get to the point where there is so little real communication is the saddest thing in the world to me.

And honestly, that's probably why this book is a 1 star review. While there is definitely a hopeful ending, the majority of this book is just plain sad. I read GLH for the escapism and the fluffiness, not for the emotional downer. (Don't argue with me that this isn't an emotional downer book because everything turns out alright in the end. The emotions are evoked, ok, and there is no redemption from that!)

Overall, if this is the type of thing you enjoy reading, I actually would recommend this one. Objectively it was well done, and even though I hated it, I can admit that it might be someone else's cup of tea. I will never re-read it, and I am glad that I pushed through and finished it for the sake of the list, but I've never been so glad to finish a book (in the last month or two...)

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace Livingston Hill's "According to the Pattern" is an engaging romantic story of a wife learning of her husband's attention to a wealthy married woman. The religious aspect happens later in the novel. Living life and accepting the worldly ways without God being the center of family is indeed becoming the norm and it is especially interesting to see that there was a loss of faith back then too. I love these old fashioned stories.

Story in short- Miriam who thought her marriage and life perfect until her world was shaken.

➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
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and saw the discontented faces of the over-dressed man and woman who sat as far apart as the width of the seat would allow, and appeared to endure their drive as two dumb animals might if this were a part of their daily round. What if she rode in state like that with a husband such as he? She had shuddered and been conscious of thankfulness
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over her home and her husband. What if Claude did stay away from home a good deal evenings! It was in the way of his business, he said, and she must be more patient. There would come a time by and by when he would have enough, so that they could live at their ease, and he need not go to the city ever any more. And into the midst of the bright dream she had conjured came little Celia’s prattle: “Mamma, see! Papa tummin’! Pitty lady!” She had looked down curiously to see who it was that reminded the child of her father, and her whole being froze within her. Her breath seemed not to come at all, and she had turned so ghastly white that the baby put up her hand and touched her cheek, saying, “Mamma, pitty mamma! Poor mamma!” For there on the seat of a high, stylish cart drawn by shining black horses with arched necks, and just below a tall elegant woman, who was driving, sat her husband. Claude! Yes, little Celia’s papa! Oh, that moment!
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She forced herself to remember his face with its varying expressions as she had watched it till it was out of sight. There was no trouble in recalling it; it was burned into her soul with a red-hot iron. He had been talking to that beautiful woman as he used to talk to her when they were first engaged. That tender, adoring gaze; his eyes lovelighted. It was unmistakable! A heart-breaking revelation! There was no use trying to blind herself. There was not the slightest hope that he could come home and explain this away as a business transaction, or a plot between him and that other woman to draw her out into the world, or any of those pretty fallacies that might happen in books. It was all true, and she had known it instantly. It had been revealed to her as in a flash, the meaning of long months of neglect, supposed business trips, luncheons, and dinners at the club instead of the homecoming. She knew it. She ought to have seen it before. If she had not been so engrossed in her little world of the household she
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would have done so. Indeed, now that she knew it, she recognized also that she had been given warnings of it. Her husband had done his best to get her out. He had suggested and begged, but she had not been well during the first years of the two elder children, and the coming of the third had again filled her heart and mind. Her home was enough for her, always provided he was in it. It was not enough for him. She had tried to make it a happy one; but perhaps she had been fretful and exacting sometimes, and it may
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be she had been in fault to allow the children to be noisy when their father was at home. He had always been fond of society, and had been brought up to do exactly as he pleased. It was hard for him to be shut in as she was, but that was a woman’s lot. At least it was the lot of the true mother who did not trust her little ones to servants. Ah, was she excusing him? That must not be. He was her husband. She loved him deeply, tenderly, bitterly; but she would not excuse him.

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I did not like Claude until later in the story when he truly saw that he had sinned against his wife. I loved Miriam's plan and courage, she was careful how she approached and when it would be best. She had seen Claude and Mrs. Sylvester at the party, she had thought all was lost but the worse had to happen before things got better. I loved that both husband and wife found the need for Christ in their lives and they came to it separately but then they saw the importance of the whole family living a Christian life. It was sad that Mrs. Sylvester continued in her evil ways. Claude had a nice home and he started to want worldly activities, he should have talked to his wife and she should have spent more time with him. In the end they saw how important a life in a home that is centered on God and family.

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He should not have been riding with a wealthy woman of fashion while his own wife came to the park on the trolley and took care of her baby as he passed by. He was not a man of wealth yet, though they had hoped he would one day be; but how did he get into this set? How came he to be sitting beside that lovely lady with the haughty air who had smiled so graciously down upon him? Her soul recoiled even now as she remembered that her husband should be looking up in that way to any woman—that is, any woman but
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herself—oh, no! Not even that! She wanted her husband to be a man above, far above herself She must respect him. She could not live if she could not do that. What should she do? Was there anything to do? She would die. Perhaps that was the way out of it—she would die. It would be an easy affair. No heart could bear many such mighty grips of horror as had come upon hers that afternoon. It would not take long. But the children—her three little children! Could she leave them to the world—to another woman,
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perhaps, who would not love them? No, not that. Not even to save them from the shame of a father who had learned to love another woman than his wife. She reasoned this out. It seemed to her that her brain had never seen things so clearly before in all her life.

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Miriam Hammond Winthrop—who had thought when she married that she would be the most devoted of wives, she had let her husband drift away from her, and had helped on the destruction that was coming surely and swiftly to her little children. Was it too late? Was the past utterly irretrievable? Had he gone too far? Had he lost his love for her entirely? Was her power all gone? She used to be able to bring the lovelight into his eyes. Could she ever do it again?
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She longed to have her husband come home that she might throw herself at his feet and beg and plead with him for her happiness, to save their home; she longed to accuse him madly, and fling scorching words at him, and watch his face as she told him how she and his baby had seen him that afternoon; and then she longed again to throw her arms about his neck and cry upon his breast as she used to do when they were first married, and any little thing happened that she did not like. How she used to cry over trifles then! How could she, when such a world of sorrow was coming to her so soon? She was wise enough to know that none of these longings of her heart must be carried into effect if she would win her husband. In his present attitude he would laugh at her fears! She seemed to understand that her anguish would only anger him because he would feel condemned. Her own soul knew that she could not take him back into
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her heart of hearts until she won him back and he came of his own accord confessing his wrong to her. But would that ever be? He was a good man at heart, she believed. He would not do wrong, not very wrong, not knowingly. Perhaps he had not learned to love any other woman, only to love society, and—to—cease to love her. If her dear, wise mother were there! But no! She could not tell her. She must never breathe this thing to any living soul if she would hope to do anything! His honor should be
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hers. She would protect him from even her own condemnation so long as she could. But what to do and how to do it!
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But the wife’s heart suddenly overflowed with gratitude toward the paper. It was trying to do good in the world, it was ready to help the helpless. Why should she be ashamed to write? No one would ever know who it was. And she
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need not consider herself from last night’s view-point. She had come to a terrible strait. Trouble and shame had entered her life. She no longer stood upon the high pinnacle of joy in happy wifehood!

[Joanie Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was originally published in 1903, so it contains some old fashioned ideas and values, however so much of what she says can be applied to living the Christian life today. Most people either love the books of Grace Livingston Hill or they hate them. I have to say, I like them.

What I liked: I love the way Ms. Hill builds an empathy in the reader for the main character, Miriam Winthrop. As a reader, I cheered Miriam in her desire and need to win back her husband, and admired her efforts to improve her social standing and the decorations in her home to impress and please her husband. The character and plot are both strong factors that kept me turning pages to see what would happen in the end.

What I didn’t like: Rather than using dialogue for some of the scenes, which would have been more interesting, Ms. Hill wrote many of the paragraphs as descriptive and reflective. Even though I enjoyed reading most of this book, I found myself skimming through some of the non-essential paragraphs.

Over all, I give this book four stars. It was entertaining and fun to read, and Marian’s commitment to her husband and her marriage were strong enough to keep me interested to find out how she would accomplish that task.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a mesmerizing story that would not let me go. Their were parts that were slow but added to the angst of the story. The main characters, especially the h, earned my admiration. The times were not kind to women with children without a means of support and the outside threat to her marriage and family would destroy every facet of her life that she held dear. She met the threat and beat it in such a way that her marriage was saved, her husband was redeemed and her faith was strengthened. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending where the OW realizes that not only had she lost, she had been beaten at her own game. The h achieved a loving relationship, the OW became bitter. Karma.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly good book. It was recommended to me by Kindle, otherwise I would have never come across it. I had never heard of it or of the author, Grace Livingston Hill.

She is a Christian writer, and this is a sweet and tender love story of a husband and wife who find their marriage almost ruined, and then find it saved again through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Very good reading.

[Paulita · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clean story filled with intrigue and angst

This is on the top of my Grace Livingston Hill's booklist. I like the well written storyline. So often the trouble encountered in life comes slowly slipping in by our own life choices. Before we know it, we have ourselves in deep, dark waters. This story is about a young couple struggling to survive the darkness. You'll have to read and see for yourself.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of an odd one for me. I'm not sure what to think of a woman trying to win her husband back by resorting to all of the world's tricks.

To confuse the issue, the tactics she puts into play aren't all necessarily worldly, even though the author describes them that way.

I did find it surprising that such an obviously Christian book wouldn't mention what the Bible says about wives trying to win unbelieving husbands.

[Telisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wife learns a harsh truth about her husband and starts down a hard road to win him back.
Not only win him but to defeat her foe.
Its a beautiful story, filled with heart rendering moments.
A timeless tale for any age.

[Jj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old-fashioned, but timeless! Actually it’s something to think about that just flirting with an affair is sin against God, your marriage, and your spouse. If one can read past the high romance of this story, the message is inspiring.
Grace was one -of-a-kind.

[Carla Liermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very different read for me. I liked the Christian aspect. The time period language and thought processes did transport me to a different time. Now that I’m finished I think I enjoyed it more than I felt I was enjoying it as I was reading it.

[Gabriella · Rating 3 out of 5]

My preferred genre is mystery rather than romance. The wife's plan to regain her husband was good.

[Margaret Boehm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miriam is ready to fight fire with fire. Her life wasn't suppose to be like this. Her marriage were made to be kept...but there are empty words.

[Frances M. Burris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pattern

I have read many of Grace Livingston Hill books, but I think this is my favorite. A beautiful romance between husband and wife.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

According to the Pattern is a novel by Grace Livingston Hill that comes toward the beginning of a book I have of lots and lots of Grace Livingston Hill novels. I don't know where it came from anymore. It was a very interesting story and kept me reading from beginning to end without once jumping ahead which happens rather often when books start to drive me crazy. And this books had its moments of driving me crazy.

Our heroine is Miriam. One day she is in the park with her children when they happen to see her husband go by with a beautiful, glamourous woman and you can tell by the way he is looking at her that Miriam's marriage is in trouble. What she does isn't what I would do, but I'm not in the story. Miriam writes to a fashion magazine for advise and gets an answer of all the things she should do to make herself just as beautiful, glamorous, and as well known in society circles as Mrs. Sylvester, the "other woman" is.

So Miriam's husband heads overseas on business, I have no idea what his business is, and Miriam uses that time to remodel their home and remodel herself. By the time her husband returns he finds himself in a practically new home with a beautiful transformed wife he barely recognizes. She is now so sought after, so stylish, so beautiful, he falls in love with her all over again. This is dumb, but it's what happens. But this is okay with me, the story was still interesting and I was still enjoying reading it. It wouldn't be as okay with me if my husband walked in the door, saw I had moved all our furniture around, was wearing brand new clothing, had done my hair in a brand new way, and immediately fell back in love with me because of how I looked it wouldn't be okay. But it was nice of her to make an effort to save her marriage, and save it she will, if she doesn't die from an old guy who kisses her when she isn't expecting it causing her to faint and become ill on the edge of dying for a few days. This book almost makes me want to wait until the next time my husband is away and move all our furniture around and see what he says when he gets home. I said almost. I enjoyed the book, evil old guy and all.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although not my favorite GLH book, ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN is an interesting and sweet story. It's an early Grace Livingston Hill novel that is very different from the rest of her books. Dealing with adultery, depression, suicide, following after the pattern of the world, deception, illness, and pure evil, it is most definitely a story for adults. However, it also has a beautiful faith message, gospel presentation, messages of forgiveness, love, starting anew and living life according to the pattern of God. My favorite scene shows the power of music to bring healing (I am studying to become a certified therapeutic musician). I love all of Grace's books and enjoy seeing the progression of her writing style.

[Diedre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my, one of the most profound stories of temptation of infidelity I have read. It has an ending steeped in the love of God and forgiveness and not in a religious way but in a love way. But to get there, this author supplies the reader with such inner workings of the heart that your own heart beats with anxious thought making you realize the depth of betrayal that really occurs when a husband goes astray. Even if he just goes astray mentally. And what needs to happen to cleanse the heart and re-unite two souls to love and trust again. Superbly written. Yes, written long ago. But timeless in its pattern. A very intricately woven story.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite a departure from the typical Grace Livingston Hill story. It is darker than most with characters choices leading them downhill to severe consequences before they finally are turned toward God. This was painful to watch, but, it is also more redemptive than most. It is also unusual in that it is not really a romance, although she does manage to sneak a little romance in with a couple of side characters.

[Jeannette Harbottle]

We all need a pattern

This novel, like all Grace Livingston Hill 's books, has a very clear Christian message. It is the tale of marital infidelity and the forgiveness that only God offers.