The year is 1934. With the country in the stranglehold of drought and economic depression, Ella Barron runs her Texas boarding house with an efficiency that ensures her life will be kept in balance. Between chores of cooking and cleaning for her residents, she cares for her ten-year-old son, Solly, a sweet but challenging child whose misunderstood behavior finds Ella on the receiving end of pity, derision, and suspicion. When David Rainwater arrives at the house looking for lodging, he comes recommended by a trusted friend as "a man of impeccable character." But Ella senses that admitting Mr. Rainwater will bring about unsettling changes. However, times are hard, and in order to make ends meet, Ella's house must remain one hundred percent occupied. So Mr. Rainwater moves into her house...and impacts her life in ways Ella could never have foreseen. The changes are echoed by the turbulence beyond the house walls. Friends and neighbors who've thus far maintained a tenuous grip on their meager livelihoods now face foreclosure and financial ruin. In an effort to save their families from homelessness and hunger, farmers and cattlemen are forced to make choices that come with heartrending consequences. The climate of desperation creates a fertile atmosphere for racial tensions and social unrest. Conrad Ellis -- privileged and spoiled and Ella's nemesis since childhood -- steps into this arena of teeming hostility to exact his vengeance and demonstrate the extent of his blind hatred and unlimited cruelty. He and his gang of hoodlums come to embody the rule of law, and no one in Gilead, Texas, is safe. Particularly Ella and Solly. In this hotbed of uncertainty, Ella finds Mr. Rainwater a calming presence. She is moved by the kindness he shows other boarders, Solly...and Ella herself. Slowly, she begins to rely on his soft-spokenness, his restraint, and the steely resolve of his convictions. And on the hottest, most violent night of the summer, those principles will be put to the ultimate test. From acclaimed bestselling author Sandra Brown comes a powerfully moving novel celebrating the largess and foresight of a great bygone generation. It tells a story that bears witness to a bittersweet truth: that love is worth whatever price one must pay for it.

Brown, Sandra

Simon & Schuster, Incorporated

United States, United States of America

First Edition first Printing, 2009

topic: Boardinghouses; City and town life; Dust Bowl Era, 1931-1939

Type: 英文图书

Bookmarks:
1. (p1) ACKNOWLEDGMNTS
2. (p2) Prologue
3. (p3) One
4. (p4) Two
5. (p5) Three
6. (p6) Four
7. (p7) Five
8. (p8) Six
9. (p9) Seven
10. (p10) Eight
11. (p11) Nine
12. (p12) Ten
13. (p13) Eleven
14. (p14) Twelve
15. (p15) Thirteen
16. (p16) Fourteen
17. (p17) Fifteen
18. (p18) Sixteen
19. (p19) Seventeen
20. (p20) Eighteen
21. (p21) Epilogue
22. (p22) About the Author

theme: Boardinghouses; City and town life; Dust Bowl Era, 1931-1939

<p><p>acclaimed Bestselling Author Sandra Brown Celebrates The Spirit And Determination That Kept Our Country Proud Even Through The Great Depression, In This Moving Tale Of A Bygone Generation And A Strong Young Widow Who Must Rise Above Her Circumstances. <p>ella Barron Is Determined That Even The Ravages Of The Dust Bowl Will Not Affect The Well-ordered Life She Has Built For Herself And Her Special Child, Solly, Who Lives In A World Of His Own That Even She Can&#8217;t Enter. Aware That He Evokes Pity And Distrust, Ella Holds Herself Aloof From Her Small Community, But Her New Boarder, David Rainwater, Comes Into Her Life&#8212; And Changes It Forever. As Economic Desperation Creates Bitter Social Unrest In The Town And Surrounding Farms, Ella Finds Herself Relying On Mr. Rainwater&#8217;s Soft-spoken Advice And The Steely Resolve Of His Convictions. But Tensions Escalate In The Summer Heat, Until One Violent Night Everything They Believe In Will Be Put To The Ultimate Test. <p>sandra Brown&#8217;s <i>rainwater </i>is A Poignant, Lyrical Novel That Will Speak Straight To Your Heart, A Story That Bears Witness To A Powerful Truth&#58; Love Is Worth Whatever Price One Must Pay For It.</p><h3>publishers Weekly</h3><p>bestseller Brown (smash Cut) Brings Depression-era Texas To Vivid Life In This Poignant Short Novel. At The Recommendation Of Dr. Murdy Kincaid, Ella Barron, A Hardworking Woman Whose Husband Deserted Her, Accepts David Rainwater, A Relative Of The Doctor's, As A Lodger At The Boarding House She Runs In The Small Town Of Gilead, Tex. As The Local Community Contends With A Government Program To Shoot Livestock And The Opposition Of Racist Conrad Ellis, A Greedy Meatpacker, To Poor Families Butchering The Meat, Ella Grows Closer To David. Meanwhile, David Becomes A Special Guardian Angel To Solly, Ella's Nine-year-old Autistic Son. Dr. Kincaid Has Gently Suggested Ella Put Solly In An Institution, But She Refuses To Do So. Brown Skillfully Charts The Progress Of Ella And David's Quiet Romance, While A Contemporary Frame Adds A Neat Twist To This Heartwarming But Never Cloying Historical. (nov.)</p>

A romantic historical novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Seeing Red about an independent woman who runs a boarding house in Dust Bowl Texas.
Ella Baron runs her Texas boarding house with the efficiency of a ships captain and the grace of a gentlewoman. She cooks, cleans, launders, and cares for her ten-year-old son, Solly, a sweet but challenging child whose busy behavior and failure to speak elicits undesired advice from others in town. Ellas plate is full from sunup to sundown. When a room in her boarding house opens up, the respected town doctor brings Ella a new boarderthe handsome and gallant Mr. David Rainwaterbut Ella is immediately resistant to opening up her home to this mysterious stranger.
Even with assurances that Mr. Rainwater is a man of impeccable character, a former cotton broker and a victim of the Great Depression, Ella stiffens at the thought of taking him in. Dr. Kincaid tells Ella in confidence that Mr. Rainwater wont require the room for long: he is dying. Begrudgingly, Ella accepts Mr. Rainwaters application to board, but she knows that something is happening; she is being swept along by an unusual series of events. Soon, this strong-minded, independent woman will realize that the living that she has eked out for herself in the small bubble of her town is about to change, whether she likes it or not...
Racial tensions, the financial strain of livelihoods in cotton drying up into dust, and the threat of political instability swirl together into a tornado on the horizon. One thing is certain: the winds of change are blowing all over Texasand through the cracks in the life that Ella Barron has painstakingly built. This is the story of a woman who takes her lifes circumstances in both hands, but who will be forced to reckon with the chaos of her historical circumstances..

In a time of drought and economic depression in 1934, Ella Barron runs her boardinghouse in Texas while caring for her son, Solly, and responds to the calm influence of one of her boarders, David Rainwater, while facing the tension and uncertainty around her

2025-04-17