Although she was born in 1865 and passed away in 1947, Grace Livingston Hill is proof positive that truly great stories never go out of style.
Known for her sweeping, romantically charged tales that paired strong, forward-thinking women with equally take-charge, heroic men, Livingston Hill’s lively protagonists experienced many of the same joys and trials that people can relate to today.
In the same way Jane Austen’s work has resonated with audiences of all ages and backgrounds, Barbour Books is hoping to reinvigorate and expand Livingston Hill’s fan base by re-releasing a new title (a total of 60) monthly via an exclusive book club found at GraceLivingstonHillBookclub.com.
“This would provide readers who are already familiar with Grace the opportunity to go back and reread their favorites, or if they didn’t collect them all earlier now they can,” says Barbour’s Senior Editor of Romance/Women’s Fiction, Rebecca Germany. “Collecting them all is really the idea behind the book club. For readers who want to read all her titles, this is an ideal way to make sure you don’t miss any.”
So what is it exactly that makes Livingston Hill’s work stand the test of time? Well, Barbour’s Vice President of Publishing, MaryBurns, says it’s because she wrote about life as she observed it.
“She had the unique advantage of a writer to have lived through wonderful and drastic changes in history’s timeline. Born in 1865, she knew life before electricity and cars, and she saw how the American frontier was settled and states formed,” Burns says. “She lived through the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II, as well as times of depression and times of excess, epidemics and political changes [including] the temperance movement and the campaign for women to vote.”
More importantly, her books are practical lessons in history that ultimately point the reader to the gospel and showcase how the Christian message should be lived.
This article originally appeared in the September/October 2012 issue of FamilyFiction digital magazine. Subscribe for free today!