The Jewel of Gresham Green

4.75 stars.
I didn't realize that there were previous books about Gresham when I picked this up, but that didn't damage my enjoyment of the story or the characters. The setting is absolutely delightful and reminds me of some older books by George MacDonald and Rosa Nouchette Carey. It made me want to step back in time and visit this quaint town. And this has to be one of the prettiest covers ever!

It's not a deeply dramatic tale, nor is the title or blurb very accurate. It's a gentle, personal story of several main characters finding who they are and what their purpose is in the world. Jewel is just one of several; there's a squire who's had a stroke, a preacher who faces gallstone surgery, a doctor who longs to win the heart of the wife he loves, and a wife who needs to grow up and realize her girlish disappointment doesn't need to define who she is anymore. Each of these characters faces decisions and opportunities and must choose the right path.

All that said, I did notice a couple things. There were a few names that were out of place (the name Reese for a girl, especially...that one was about a hundred years ahead of its time), and one nit-pick: as a reader of classic fiction, it irks me when authors go the easy route and have their characters read only books that are considered classics today. There were many, many books that were bestsellers in those days which are less commonly known today, but would be less recognizable today...such as the two authors mentioned above who specialized in Christian fiction of the day and others such as Emily Sarah Holt, Charlotte Yonge, and many more.