|
A Roaring Twenties adventure unfolds in Jennifer
Chiaverini's latest bestselling Elm Creek Quilts novel,
another in "a series that neatly stitches together
social drama and the art of quilting" (Library
Journal).
Newly wed in a festive yet poignant ceremony at Elm
Creek Manor, bride Elizabeth Nelson takes leave of her
ancestral Pennsylvania home. Setting off with her
husband, Henry, on the adventure of a lifetime,
Elizabeth packs the couple's trunk with more than the
wedding quilts she envisions them dreaming beneath every
night of their married lives. They are landowners who
hold the deed to Triumph Ranch, 120 acres of prime
California soil located in the Arboles Valley, north of
Los Angeles.
"Triumph Ranch," says Mae, a traveling companion whom
Elizabeth has let in on the promise of the Nelsons'
bright future. "That sounds like a sure thing." But in a
cruel reversal of fortune, the Nelsons arrive to the
news that they've been had, and they are left suddenly,
irrevocably penniless.
They are hired as hands at the farm they thought they
owned, and Henry struggles mightily with his pride. Yet
clever, feisty Elizabeth — drawing on her share of the
Bergstrom women's inherent economy and resilience — vows
to defy fate through sheer force of will. As her life
intertwines with Rosa Diaz Barclay, native to the
Arboles Valley and a fellow quilter, their blossoming
friendship sheds light on many secrets that have kept
each of them and their families from their rightful
homes.
In the cabin where Henry and Elizabeth are living on
Triumph Ranch, Elizabeth discovers quilts belonging to
Rosa's mother, and in their exquisite patterns
recognizes a misplaced legacy of love,land, and family.
But her newfound understanding of the burden of loss
that Rosa shares with the mysterious Lars Jorgensen
places her in mortal danger. Only by stitching the rift
between the past and the future can the inhabitants of
Triumph Ranch hope to live in peace alongside history. |
