A Proper Pursuit

An Awesome Historical Read That Doesn't Stop There!

The time is the late 1800¿s and twenty year old Violet Hayes is on a quest to experience romance and mystery just like the books her and her best friend Ruth snuck to read at Madame Beauchamps' School for girls. Yes she was taught to be a lady but she wants adventure. After finding out her father is about to remarry and that her mother really is alive not dead as her father had try to make her believe, Violet knows she must go to Chicago to find her mother, who she hasn¿t seen since she was nine, she convinces her father to let her go see the World¿s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and to visit her grandmother and her great aunts. But everyone else has their own plans for Violet. Her grandmother, father and Aunt Agnes are out to have her married. Her crazy Aunt Birdie tells her to marry for love and her Aunt Matt tells her she doesn¿t need to marry. Than all in one week she has three marriage proposals but the men all have their own ideas too and not one includes love. All the while Violet is falling in love with Silas the salesman she met on the train to Chicago who has really tried hard to help her find her mother. But Violet believes he is a thief and not a proper suitor. She allows the men to escort her to the fair and spends time with her grandmother helping the poor, Aunt Agnes takes her calling on all her high society friends and Aunt Matt teaches her about the Women¿s Suffragette Movement. Violet learns a lot but feels none of these lives is for her. She knows her time is running out as her father is making her go home and marry Herman Beckett unless she finds someone else but Violet knows she must find her mother! Her father has instructed her grandmother and aunts to tell her nothing about her mother but Violet finds herself in a mystery, the mystery of her mother and why she left, the truth about her father and the woman he is about to marry and Uncle Phillip which she didn¿t know she had an uncle and all the while trying to stop the feelings that are growing for Silas. Will Violet find her mother? Will she marry without love or have her heart broken by the thief Silas only time will tell as Violet finds God along the way and knows He has all the answers even if she isn¿t sure herself. ¿A Proper Pursuit¿ is an awesome read perfect for teens and adults alike who love romance, history and a little bit of mystery. The author Lynn Austin draws you in from the very first page and takes you back in time and places you there with Violet as she determines the course of her life and searches for her mother. This reviewer loved the detailed history especially Dwight Moody¿s ministry, the women¿s suffragette marches and the World¿s Fair as the time period really comes alive. So if love books like `Gone with the Wind¿ by Margaret Mitchell or ¿Redeeming Love¿ by Francine Rivers you will thoroughly enjoy ¿A Proper Pursuit¿.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Violet and how she grows

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was a little apprehensive to try it and glad I did. Violet was an interesting character who learned how to grow up and act like an adult and went on some wild adventures in her time. Makes you think about how hard women did have it back in the day.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Charming and funny

I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

My One of my favorite books!

This book made me giggle like a schoolgirl! You have to keep reading all the way to the end (it doedn't fizzle out toward the end)...and oh what an ending! Highly recommend!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I Love "A Proper Pursuit"

I love "A Proper Pursuit". It takes place in 1893, a 20 yr. old girl, Violet Hayes, has just completed finishing school and goes to Chicago to live with her grandmother and great-aunts to do some detective work and find a husband. She learns many life lessons in the pursuit.

It is witty, she has the kind of imagination that Ann of Green Gables has, running away with her. I enjoyed discovering which of her absurd imaginings were true and which were not.

Violet is spunky, intelligent and fun! I laughed out loud many times. It's a book about life, love, finding the true meaning of forgiveness and learning how to forgive. I love how Violet experiences all walks of life to some degree while staying in Chicago.

Lynn Austin's character development created real people for me. I have enjoyed everything I have read of hers. Her description of a first kiss in this book is epic, I felt it. I felt cheated when the book ended. I want more! I have read it 4 times and will read it many more.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

,,,!!,!

wow whhhat a. suprise endingg i loved it

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A fun read!

Violet is hilarious with her imagination running amok throughout this book. Fun to read and funny, but not cheesy or sappy.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

SUPER AND SUPER AND SUPER!!!!

Lynn NEVER disappoints her readers -- each of her books is different -- no predicting what she writes -- thats what makes them so great! I can't believe anyone would think these characters are shallow. Her books are always wholesome too -- what a treat to get as a gift or to just read and re-read. KEEP writing faster Lynn -- we love you!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Incredible story from an incredible author!

'A Proper Pursuit' is a charming tale with an even more endearing heroine. Violet is dramatic and smart, and so easy to connect with! Her outlook on life and spunky personality make the story enjoyable and funny! The many suitors pursuing her are also wonderful, and you don't know how it will turn out until the very last page.The book has a powerful message about being the person God created you to be and not always conforming to the ideas of other people. Lynn Austin is an amazing author, and everything she writes is powerful and impossible to put down. I must say, though, that this book is her best so far!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

a fantastic inspirational ninetieth century Americana tale

In the summer of 1893 in Lockport, Violet Hayes is stunned to learn that her father is remarrying the Widow Maude O¿Neill. It is not the rat faced phony Widow, who may have killed her first husband or her two children Horace and Harriet that stuns Violet as she explains to her father that he has a wife, her mother even if she has been restrained in a mental hospital for the last eleven years. Her father says he is now free to remarry Violet asks when did she die and why was she not told. Instead her father finally admits her mother apparently deserted Violet and her father and moved to Chicago. Violet, who barely remembers her mother, needs to know why along with six other mysteries as much as to escape the Widow, her father, and the courtship of Herman Beckett.-------------- In Chicago, Violet searches for her mother Angeline Cepak Hayes while staying with her grandmother and great aunts. Her grandmother especially welcomes her to the family. As she learns about her maternal roots she meets Silas McClure, seller of Dr. Dean¿s Blood Builder. They are attracted to one another, but Violet has doubts as everyone she meets seems to have an agenda for her even her loving nurturing grandmother.------------- This is a fantastic inspirational ninetieth century Americana tale starring a precious female protagonist whose naive understanding of life beyond Lockport is based on romance and mystery dime novels. The ensemble cast in Chicago and Lockport enhance the efforts of the heroine to solve her seven mysteries besides why mom left to include did Maude kill her first husband and why did dad give up on religion, etc. Although the romance between the bemused Silas and the bewildered Violet is unnecessary, readers will appreciate this entertaining look through the eyes of an inexperienced but not shrinking Violet at a time when Chicago hosted the Columbian World expedition.------------- Harriet Klausner

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommend!

Great Read!

Loved it!

After reading Wonderland Creek I didnt think it was possible for me to like another of Lynn Austin's books as much as that. But I loved this one as much if not more. Full of romance and suspense. Kind of sad that it is over. Lynn Austin is one of the best authors I have read.

Another homerun!

Lynn Austen may well be one of my favorite auhors and this book is just one more reason why! Told from the view point of a wildly imaginative young lady, the writing style is playful and quirky, fun and intriging. I loved that I couldn't decide which suitor to root for at first! The overall message of this novel was terrific as well. A must read for any young lady, even if she hasn'tbeen to finishing school :)

Amazing; so good!

This book was fantastic! I am not really one to read books that take place during this time period. I more like ancient time periods, so I wasn't quite sure whether or not I would enjoy this, but I really really did. I enjoyed the mystery and suspense that I felt while reading. Austin's way of giving her characters personalities was very wel done. Each character was different, but completely realistic. I was glad that the main character's personality was spunky and adventurous. It was entertaining. I do wish that there was more of a story about Violet's faith and spiritual growth, but on the bright side, it's kind of left up to the reader what happens with that. Rest assured, it can't be anything but good growth. I enjoyed the romance aspect of the novel very much as well. I really wish there was a sequel, but it would probably be left better without one. I honestly don't know. In the end, if you're having a hard time deciding whether or not to read this book, you should definitely go for it. I learned so much!

Enjoyed and learned!

Set post civil war and post Chicago fire ,this book shows the reader what an exciting time it was to be living in Chicago. It ties together women'S sufferage, social justice for immigrants working in terrible conditions, the Chicago world fair and pressures to marry well in high social classes. It is strewn with Christian values and advice to my liking without being sappy. I just really loved this book and look foreard ylto reading more by this author since this was my first one. Definately reccommend !!!

Great book!

My mom read this book and laughed her head off at it. I have only just started it yet what I have read of it is truly enjoyable. Her spunk and humor will have you chuckling all the way through.

Disappointing

I love Lynn Austin but this book has none of the wonderful spiritual elements of her other books. The characters in this book have no depth. The main character is shallow. Seems as if someone else wrote the book. I can't imagine Lynn Austin writing this book unless someone edited out all the wonderful depth and spirituality that are so much a part of her other books. Don't waste your money on this book. If you want to read it, get it from the library or read some of it in the book store!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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