
All Things New
post written by Esther Filbrun
Title: All Things New
Author: Lynn Austin
Major Themes: American Civil War, Reconstruction
Synopsis: With the war over, rebuilding their ruined livelihoods and lives isn’t easy—do they have the endurance to do it, and will they be able to find hope in the aftermath of such horror?
Having read two-thirds of Lynn Austin’s Refiner’s Fire series, I was quite intrigued when I saw All Things New, set during Reconstruction. I haven’t read much from that time period; the most notable would probably be Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor—an exceptionally eye-opening book, in my opinion, but that’s a topic for another time! I was quite interested to see what Austin would do with this book, because though I knew she’d likely follow her normal template for a story, I also knew I’d see a lot of history in the pages. And I did.
This book is told from three different points of view: An older woman who has been served by slaves all her life, her younger daughter, and one of their former slaves—and each is trying to find their way in the new world they find themselves in.
Now that the war is over, Eugenia Weatherly is determined to get everything back to the way it was before. Forget what the Yankees say; she knows what she and her family need, and she’s determined to get it. They will get their slaves back, one way or another.
Josephine, on the other hand, is fairly certain things will never be the same again. She’s tired of the war and violence, and is ready for peace to return, yes, but she doesn’t think it will be nearly as easy to rebuild as her mother is expecting it to be. Then, there’s the matter of whether she can really even trust the Lord. He didn’t answer her prayers during the war, instead, He allowed so much suffering and death…why should she trust or believe in a God that could ignore (or allow!) all of that?
Lizzy, a former slave, isn’t sure what to think of her new-found freedom. All she really wants is a safe place to live with her husband, where they can raise her family free of fear. Fear of being separated still runs deeply, and things haven’t necessarily gotten better since the end of the war. Can she hang onto an unyielding trust in the Lord, no matter what happens to her or her family?
I can’t imagine what it must have been like to have such major social shifting as these people experienced. For some, used to living at the lowest of the low side of the social structure, suddenly being told that they were on level with the highest, it must have been tremendously thrilling—and frightening. And then for others, used to being in the aristocracy, suddenly told they were no higher in rank than their former slaves…what a change! And how frightening, in its own right!
There are so many things I could say about All Things New, but I think my favorite part was seeing how the history shone through the story here. This was an incredibly difficult time period, as so many different people were trying to find their feet again—or for the first time—and there were many different tensions that we can hardly imagine today. Of course, there was a romantic element in the story—that was to be expected—but even in that, there were lessons on faithfulness and encouraging others to look for hope in Jesus that I found precious. This book deals with some hard, hard topics. But I enjoyed it as a way to get a little bit more of a picture of history. It was also a good reminder of how we can encourage others to do what is right through our words and, more importantly, our actions. Recommended.
Top two quotes:
“He never will [move forward] as long as he remains bitter. Bitterness is one of the deadliest emotions we ever feel. You can’t look forward when you’re bitter, only backward—thinking about what you’ve lost, stuck in the past, despairing because it’s gone. In the end, it devours all hope.” —Alexander
“When we walk away from God, we walk away from any chance of joy. Joy doesn’t come from circumstances but from God.” —Alexander
Age Levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy All Things New:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
Book Depository: Paperback
Keywords: American Civil War, Reconstruction, History, Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, United States History, Civil War, US History 1865-1900, North America, Books for Women
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