Thursday, September 25, 2014

AN UNCERTAIN DREAM by Judith Miller

This is book 3 in the "Postcards from Pullman Series".  Although I enjoyed reading this story, it didn't appeal to me as much as books 1 and 2 did.  I would definitely recommend reading these books in the order they were written, because they are a full story together and reading them separately you will miss too much background and information.  I do enjoy how much detail and attention to history this author provided for me as I read her stories.

It is 1894 in the city of Pullman, Illinois and the working class people at the Pullman Car Works are about to unite as a Union and go on strike.  Working wages and housing costs in the city of Pullman are not good and Mr. Pullman shows no signs of caring about the people who work for him, only about the money he is making for himself and his investors.  Fred DeVault and Olivia are still trying to find time for each other as Fred helps head up the strike and Olivia stays busy as assistant chef at the hotel there in Pullman.  Then there is also Lady Charlotte Spencer who finds herself heading back to America from England with her son, Morgan.  There is a lot of things happening during this story but the main emphasis is upon the strikers and the union and how is affects the whole country at times.

My heart goes out to the people that were living during this time in Pullman and Chicago.  Life was not easy for them; they took a risk and I will let you determine whether it was worth it or not.  The "romance" part of the book was not an obvious part of this story, but it just naturally flowed with the story as you saw people trying to live and make a living and at the same time fall in love during hard times.  The faith of some in a God who can work all things out will give hope and courage to those in despair.  This was a series I enjoyed; I felt I was learning the history of this time and place as I read, and getting to know how the people lived during this time.

No comments: