Title: A Quilt for Christmas- Author: Sandra Dallas
- Genre: Historical Fiction; Christmas
- Published: October 2014 – St. Martin’s Press
- Source: Publisher
Synopsis: It is 1864, and Eliza Spooner’s husband Will has joined the Kansas volunteers to fight the Confederates, leaving her with their two children and in charge of their home and land. Eliza is confident that Will will return home, and she helps pass the months making a special quilt to keep her husband warm during his winter months in the army. When the unthinkable happens, she takes in a woman and child who have been left alone and made vulnerable by the war, and she finds solace and camaraderie amongst the women of her quilting group. But when she is asked to help hide an escaped slave, she must decide for herself what is right and who she can count on to help her. (publisher)
My take: If you are a fan of Sandra Dallas’s The Persian Pickle Club you’ll be pleased to know that the characters in Eliza’s quilting group are grandmothers of the Persian Pickle Club ladies. I haven’t read The Persian Pickle Club but I’m certainly tempted to now that I’ve read A Quilt for Christmas.
Sandra Dallas had me riveted to her story. My Great(3x) Grandfather Stephen came to the US from Ireland, settled in Wisconsin and fought for the Union in the Civil War. More than once while reading A Quilt for Christmas I found myself wondering how Stephen’s wife Ellen (also from Ireland) survived on their farm without her husband. In Dallas’s story Eliza has a tough time in so many ways even though her teenage son and some friends helped out. Eliza had an inner strength that carried her through so many situations.
This book could be read straight through in a day or two or it could be read a chapter a day. I’m really glad I read it and would recommend it to fans of Civil War historical fiction and fans of Sandra Dallas.
Bookfan 