| Series: | Aprons & Veils, #1 |
| Genre: | Historical Fiction/Romance |
| Pub. Date: | 29 Aug 2022 |
| Pages: | 273 |
| Publisher: | Valmont House Publishers |
| Cover: | Love the look on her face. |
| Rating: | 4 stars |
This book is not about a rich young woman
fleeing to the west as a mail-order bride.
Poor Miss Fairfield. Her father makes her a pawn in his business by a betrothal to a man, twice a widower, his business partner. You’ll dislike him immediately and well you should. The cad leaves town and asks his stepson to “look after” Sophia. The setting: Charleston, SC. The time: February 1899.
And you can guess what happens between Carver and Sophia. Carver’s stepfather threatens to ruin him financially. Unable to get her parents to change their minds. and seeing there was no way to stop the wedding, Sophia flees Charleston and becomes a Harvey Girl waitress in Las Vegas, New Mexico at the Castañeda Hotel.
My review …
Sophia was a Charleston, South Carolina daughter of wealthy parents; she is a socialite. She loves poetry and would rather read than attend balls, teas, et al. Carver Ashton, Prescott Payne’s (the cad – and I’m being nice) stepson is handsome and has future plans which do *not* include going into the “family” business. He did not mean to fall in love with Sophia — but he did.
There really was …
Traveling home from college, I remember the bus stopping for a meal at the Harvey House. Having little money, I think I had a fried egg, toast, and coffee. The point of that memory is the Harvey Houses were real. And so was the Castañeda Hotel1 and it WAS in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Maybe my ancestor who lived there saw it? Ate there?
I enjoyed this book. Sophia, to use a 20th-century phrase, “finds herself” as a Harvey House waitress. Carver is a man you, the reader, will like. I’m hoping Sophia’s maid shows up in Las Vegas, NM in a later book. She has guts. I rate The Finding of Miss Fairfield a solid four (4) stars. Oh, be sure to read the short “Author’s Notes” at the end of the book.
I received a complimentary e-ARC copy of The Finding of Miss Fairfieldvia NetGalley from the publisher, Valmont House Publisher. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
SPECIAL NOTE: The Castañeda Hotel still exists and while no longer owned by the railroad, it has been renovated after being closed for 70 years. See https://castanedahotel.org which has some pictures of the hotel in its heyday.
Rating: 4 stars
#TheFindingofMissFairfield #NetGalley #GraceHitchcock
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- Photo source: Harvey Houses.net, New Mexico. Photo courtesy [to that site from] Fred Harvey Collection, Cline Library, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff AZ. NOTE: Information about the Castañeda is *NOT* valid. Page last updated 11-Jun-2007.
