Dawn Of The Morning Paperback – September 29, 2011

Dawn, whose real name is Jemima is raised in a home without love after her father divorced her mother and re-married. Dawn refused to address the new wife as Mother and would not answer unless she was called Dawn and this a 3 or 4 years old. The new couple learned to ignore her as she ignored them and a rough truce was allowed on both sides.Dawn is eventually sent away to school, where she is the star pupil and star mischief maker but she is definitely loved by all. Dawn remained at school until graduation, never visiting home and receiving a visit once a year from her father. When he came the year before graduation with a guest, a young man, who was introduced to Dawn, she didn't really like the man but did agree to show him the garden. They young man professed interest in Dawn and asked if he could send her sweets - although she wasn't interested in them she felt her friends would like them. And so a relationship of sorts began - where it would end will amaze you!There were parts of this story that were wonderful and other parts that were too contrived. Bear in mind this is 1824 and the country was still largely rural and railroads were just beginning to be built across the country. The father was a poor excuse of a man and did not deserve his first wife, I know the laws of that time were definitely against women but, I felt her father should have helped her more, especially to gain custody of the daughter.Since Dawn was raised at her school, she was just too innocent and gullible. She did learn but it took a while.I did enjoy this book but I did not like all of the characters, as a matter of fact, I didn't like more than I did. There were some question that weren't answered until the end of the book and some info that wasn't needed at all. Just not up to her usual standards and I've become aware that her references to immigrants and African Americans, referring to them as darkies was offensive to me and are rather negative for an avowed Christian. I have noticed the dialect in other books but this time it stood out.

FIrst of all, I am a huge fan of Grace Livingston Hill's, and I wish I could give all her books five stars. So, I am rating this book against her other ones, for better clarity.This is a good read but of her works, not a must read. It's pretty long and I find the heroine of the novel one of the less complex characters. Some of her actions seem like a stretch to me...but, I guess if you consider her situation and temperament, maybe it makes sense.Dawn van Rensselaer has a stormy relationship with her father and stepmother. Her own mother was thrown out when she was young by her father. The situation with the mother is rather dark for Mrs. Hill's works. Anyway, she is supposed to marry a scoundrel of a man but is saved in the nick of time by his wife and child showing up from the West to claim him. His noble brother, Charles, steps in to marry Dawn, having fallen in love with her at first sight at an early point in the novel. Dawn is in the dark about it (thanks to the stepmother), but ends up rather pleased, of course. There are a number of misunderstandings and Dawn runs away. How Charles finds her and how they live happily ever after, is, of course, why you should buy this book. :) It's a good read and pretty long-with good plot development. It's not the best pick if you're in the mood for a 100% lighthearted read.It is one of her more dramatic, intense, and dare I say, darker works (in the real life situations of the mother and father, mostly). I certainly do recommend it, however, and hope you enjoy it!

Dawn was treated badly by her new stepmother, so she was glad to be sent to boarding school. Then she was forced into an arranged marriage to a man she feared and disliked. After the ceremony, she was taken to her husband's home. She discovered instead that she had married Charles, her France's brother, and was very happy. Charles mother asked to speak to her, telling her that she was married out of pity. Dawn ran away out of hurt and embarassment to a small village . No one could find her, yet they searched everywhere. Many things happen, many trials. Will they find each other ? An amazing story of love and forgiveness.

I remember encountering Grace Livingston Hill books when I was growing up and although I knew they were old then, I had no idea quite how long G.L.H. had been around. Ms. Hill's first book was published in 1877 and her last in 1949. Melodramatic and filled with strong emotion, Ms. Hill's books are all very much in the romantic tradition: Her heroines are impossibly beautiful and her heroes impossibly good, her characters are usually inspired by nature, and they often suffer at the hands of villains before finding their happy endings. "Dawn of the Morning" was published in 1911, but the story itself is set in 1824, and provides a fascinating glimpse into the America of that time. This book is billed as a Christian novel, but it does not have an overtly Christian message. The heroine and hero are undoubtedly characters of strong principles who live according to Christian precepts, but G.L.H. doesn't beat her readers over the head with her message. She chose to inspire rather than preach. Nor is the book a romance in the classic boy-meets-girl tradition. There is a love story, but the focus of the novel is Dawn's journey toward independence and self-fulfillment as she struggles to survive on her own. Though the events of the story are implausible, the book was never less than absorbing and I enjoyed reading it. Grace Livingston Hill wrote beautiful, inspiring stories and I am happy to find them available for Kindle.