Janet R. Stafford
Published: 2022-03-14
Total Pages:
Get eBook
Maggie Blaine, a good-hearted widow with two teenage daughters, runs a rooming house smack dab on the town square of Blaineton, New Jersey. In 1860, boarding houses are only semi-respectable, and that alone would make her a social outcast. But her house has a collection of eclectic boarders, as well as Emily and Nate Johnson, an African American couple with whom she shares her home, life, and chores. Despite her low place in society, Maggie has the one thing the congregation of her Methodist church badly needs: a room in which to house the new minister, since the parsonage has burned down. When she is asked to house the Rev Jeremiah Madison, Maggie feels as if things are looking up. She hopes that the handsome, gifted pastor not only will revive her little church but also provide her boarding house with some badly needed respectability. However, Jeremiah comes with secrets that eventually lead to disturbing complications. As the town reels from a series of shocking events, the compassionate, faithful Maggie searches to find forgiveness and to learn the truth. (The story is based on a historical event.)