Along a Storied Trail

Ann H. Gabhart

Jun 2021 · Revell

About this ebook

"Gabhart's skillful use of period details and the Appalachian landscape lend plenty of atmosphere to accompany the lessons of hope, compassion, and fortitude amid hardship. This is her best historical inspirational yet."--Publishers Weekly starred review

"Gabhart crafts an absorbing story that deeply explores the rich tradition of storytelling."--Booklist

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Kentucky packhorse librarian Tansy Calhoun doesn't mind the rough trails and long hours as she serves her Appalachian mountain community during the Great Depression. Yet she longs to find love like the heroines in her books. When a charming writer comes to town, she thinks she might have found it--or is the perfect man actually closer than she thinks?

Perdita Sweet has called these mountains home for so long she's nearly as rocky as the soil around her small cabin. Long ago she thought she could love, but when the object of her affection up and married someone else, she stopped giving too much of herself away to others.

As is so often the case, it's easier to see what's best for others than to see what's best for oneself, and Perdita knows who Tansy should choose. But why would anyone listen to the romantic advice of an old spinster?

Saddle up for a heartfelt story of love--love of family, love of place, and the love of a lifetime--from bestselling author Ann H. Gabhart.

Ratings and reviews

Along A Storied Trail is a warm, comfortable book that wraps you up in love, family, community and God's goodness. It is multiple tales combined to tale one big story. It is the story of Tansy Calhoun, a pack horse librarian in the Kentucky mountains, during the depression. Ann H. Gabhart does an incredible job of describing the people and scenery of this small community. Tansy delivers books to people along her routes and we are given a glimpse of the lives of these people. There is Aunt Perdie, one of the most cantankerous old women around, until Coralee a young, pregnant girl shows up in the middle of a snow storm seeking shelter. Then there is Caleb Barton whose brother was killed while felling a tree. He left behind a wife and two children. There is Preacher Rowlett, who isn't really a preacher. But in the midst of all of these people there comes a writer from New York City, Damien Felding. He is handsome, smart, has aplomb, and catches Tansy's eye. He has come to write a guide book that will draw people to the area. There is so much going on in this book that you don't want to miss one word of it. This book is one of those books you can't wait to seee how it ends but then you are sad that it ended. I would like to thank Revell Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book. It in no way influenced my review.

This was a story that I hated to see end because it was so wonderful! This historical fiction is set in rural Kentucky during the Great Depression. The main characters are Tansy Calhoun, her family and a crotchety old woman called Aunt Perdie. Tansy has taken a job delivering books to the inhabitants of the mountains and sets forth daily to fulfill her responsibilities. There is plenty of romance within this book’s pages, but what is most memorable to me is the characterization, the way the people just seemed to jump off the page and into my heart. I also enjoyed reading about how the hard-working folks all pitched in together to support each other when needed, like when Aunt Perdie lost her home. But I especially enjoyed the stories that were woven into the fabric of the main story, folk tales told by Aunt Perdie and Preacher Hiram, both of whom knew how to captivate an audience during a time of hardship and take people away from their dally drudgery. I learned a great deal from this book about how people should be treating their neighbors and look out for each other, even in the worst of times. This was a totally enjoyable book and one that I will enjoy sharing with others who want to take a trip to the hills of Kentucky and into a rustic log cabin where life is appreciated and faith is an important part of life. Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

ALONG A STORIED TRAIL by Ann H. Gabhart Imagine my excitement, when I found out that I was approved for this wonderful novel about a young woman's packhorse librarian adventures. I have read several other fictional books of this same genre, for I like to see the different author's sentiments on this important time in Kentucky's history. I find it intriguing that it was only instituted in Kentucky, not any of the other poor states at the time. The packhorse library was instituted as a WPA, Works Progress Administration approved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was instrumental in getting the project going as a way to bring reading materials to isolated families in the Appalachia Mountains. By hiring mostly women to deliver the books on horseback or by mule also gave families hard hit by the depression a small income to help support their families. This book joins my list of most favorite books, with mixed emotion, though I am happy to have received an advanced eBook that will expire, however, I will remedy that lack pretty soon, by purchasing my own print copy and it will have an honorary spot on my favorite book's shelf. Highly recommend. Tansy Calhoun is a twenty-year-old young woman who has her dream job of carrying library book loans to the rural Appalachia community that she lives near. She rides a dependable rented horse. She has had a crush on Caleb Barton for years, but Caleb left the area a few years ago and went to work for the CCC in a different part of Kentucky. She always assumed he had a crush on her sister. Caleb Barton has only ever loved Tansy Calhoun. When it looked like she might marry someone else, he skedaddled out of the area, with the excuse of working for the CCC to earn some money to send home to his mother, because his father had already passed on and there are no local jobs due to the depression. He is a thinker and likes to think about anything before he makes a decision. Tansy Calhoun is approached by her boss, Mrs. Weston at the library to take Damien Felding, a writer who has taken a job with the Federal Writer's Project and needs to be introduced to some of the locals in the area who might be willing to tell Mr. Felding some of their life story's and interesting things about the area to be included in a book about Kentucky, that would be used for tourism. Tansy is awed by Mr. Felding. He's visiting all the way from New York City. He's handsome and cocky. She feels like she has been placed under his spell. Who will Tansy end up with? Caleb a true friend, who is dependable, or Damien who is a city guy with his flashy ways? This book is so much more than a romance, you get to know all of the people in Tansy and Caleb's lives that make living in their rural Kentucky location a heartwarming adventure. Thanks a million to #netgalley #revell #bakerbooks #annhgabhart for the complimentary copy of #alongastoriedtrail I was under no obligation to post a review.

About the author

Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling author of several Shaker novels--The Refuge, The Outsider, The Believer, The Seeker, The Blessed, and The Gifted--as well as other historical novels, including Angel Sister, These Healing Hills, River to Redemption, and An Appalachian Summer. She and her husband live on a farm a mile from where she was born in rural Kentucky. Ann enjoys discovering the everyday wonders of nature while hiking in her farm's fields and woods with her grandchildren and her dogs, Frankie and Marley. Learn more at www.annhgabhart.com.