Beyond ivy walls

Title:

Beyond ivy walls

Author:

Fordham, Rachel, 1984- author.

Summary:

Early 1900s. When an accident leaves Sadie West's family in dire financial need, she nervously leaves the land she loves to work in the Hoag duster factory. But sending all her money home means that she has nowhere to board, and she's forced to take up residence in an abandoned building--a choice that throws her in the path of the town's mysterious bachelor. Recently returned from exile, and determined to keep his arrival a secret, Otis Taylor makes the impulsive decision to hire the woman he finds hiding on his family's property with the strict instructions she tell no one he has returned. The dark halls of his boyhood flood him with memories he's long tried to forget. The only bright light is the woman he has hired. Can the optimistic Sadie teach the wounded Otis to trust again? To love? Can the pair unravel the family secrets that have long cast a shadow over the mansion and those who reside within?

General Note:

Includes discussion questions.

Physical Description:

319 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Genre:

Christian fiction.

Romance fiction.

Historical fiction.

Subject Term:

Man-woman relationships -- Fiction.

Friendship -- Fiction.

Families -- Fiction.

Nieces -- Fiction.

Missing persons -- Fiction.

Recluses -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Iowa -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Thomas Nelson,

Publication Date:

2024

ISBN:

9780840718808

Publication Information:

Nashville, Tennessee : Thomas Nelson, [2024]

Call Number:

FORDHAM

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003748103	New Adult Fiction	FORDHAM Rachel	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast, a recluse and a young woman discover that the scars of life are no match against an act of love.

Iowa, 1903. All of Monticello believes Otis Taylor has been away fostering his musical genius. But the truth is that his father exiled him long ago, rejecting Otis's appearance and the scars that came with it. Now that he is the last living Taylor, Otis has covertly returned to settle his family's affairs and rid himself of his past for good. However, he soon discovers that he may not have been the only abandoned Taylor and begins a tireless search for his missing toddler niece.

At twenty-three years old, Sadie West left her family farm and found employment at the Hoag feather duster factory. It isn't a romantic job, but she's hardly had a glimmer of romance since her beau went off to college, leaving her with no promise of a future together. Desperate to save money and help her family make ends meet, she trespasses and finds shelter in an abandoned building--and is thrown in the path of the town's mysterious bachelor.

Otis's wounds are deep, but as Sadie's friendship with him grows, she begins to fall for the man beneath the mask. Locating his long-lost niece, however, is more difficult than either could have imagined, and Sadie West may be the key to Otis Taylor finally finding his way home.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Fordham (The Letter Tree) spins a tender tale of faith and new beginnings set in 1903 Iowa. After Sadie West's father injures himself in a riding accident, the 23-year-old spitfire leaves her family's farm for the city of Monticello, where she toils at a feather duster factory and sends her pay back home. Unable to afford lodging, she shelters in an abandoned factory behind the Taylor family mansion. When Otis Taylor returns to town to sell the house following his brother Reginald's death, he discovers Sadie living in the nearby building. The two slowly build a friendship, and Sadie encourages the reclusive Otis, who has prominent scars on his scalp and face from harmful "remedies" for his childhood alopecia, to accept himself through God's love. As their romance sparks, an unexpected search for Reginald's illegitimate daughter, who may have been put up for adoption by the child's mother, throws a wrench in the works. Fordham delicately develops her protagonists' inner worlds as their love story develops ("He'd known that life... had been lacking, but until this moment, he'd been unsure what exactly he was missing. Now he knew"). It's a touching, resonant ode to the power of hope. (Aug.)