**Spoiler alert: I enjoyed this book so much I asked Ambassador International to give away a copy to one of my readers and they said yes!  Find the giveaway at the end of the post.  🙂

I love historical fiction.  I especially love when it’s, as my friend Cynthia calls it, transformative fiction.  In particular, Christian historical fiction has the power to challenge my thinking, change my actions, and drive me back to the ultimate Truth of scripture.  I’ll never forget when my high-school bestie lent me my first Eugenia Price novel and I dove in headfirst, lost in the characters and their struggles, their loves, their victories and losses.  One year I read a trilogy on St. Simons Island, and when our ministry took us to the idyllic location that summer, I visited the graves of the real-life characters and reminisced about the things I’d learned through the account of their lives.  

Rebecca Stubbs: The Vicar’s Daughter, was a favorite read of mine when it first came out, and when author Hannah Buckland reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in reading the sequel, I was very excited.  

Set in Victorian England, (think Downton Abbey, only rich with spiritual truths and biblical challenge), Dusters and Dreams is the continuing story of Rebecca, a woman whose heart is set on obeying God in her marriage, her ministry, and her hidden heart.  In a time when “submission” is considered unquestioning obedience to one’s superiors (usually those financially better off), right or wrong, Rebecca and her husband model a sweeter portrait of submission – one to the God who can be trusted to lead, direct, and work for the good of those who love Him, and for His glory.  

Rebecca’s journey deals with issues of infertility, marital abuse, and immoral leadership, uniquely explored in the Victorian setting but oh-so-challenging and encouraging for the modern reader.  It’s a complex story without pat answers, and it has had me chewing on the concepts of sweet-spirited obedience to God, even while challenging the actions of society.  It was encouragement as a mama who hasn’t known the pain of losing a child, but who has walked the pain of watching longings for my children go unmet – and who is still watching for His leading in how I live out the calling of spiritual mother, sister, and husband-helper.  Dusters and Dreams is a story that’ll take you beyond mindless entertainment, and into spiritual reflection – well worth giving up a night or two of Netflix!

Here’s a link to get your copy of Dusters and Dreams:

Hannah’s first book, Rebecca Stubbs: The Vicar’s Daughter, is available on Amazon.  If you’re interested in grabbing Rebecca Stubbs, you can grab it here:  Both books are available as Kindle editions, as well.

Want a chance to win your own copy from Ambassador International?  Enter now!

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More thoughts on Christian fiction:

This is a meaty little piece from Desiring God that I enjoyed as an author.

Inspiring (faith-filled, story-rich) welcome,

Angela