Susanna is a lady of principles who values family above all. Johann seems to represent all she despises . . . but appearances can be deceiving.
In 1875, Susanna Hanby is headed off to college in Westerville, Ohio, when she discovers her sister Rachel and Rachel’s children have disappeared. Susanna suspects that Rachel’s alcoholic husband knows more than he’s saying and she vows to uncover the truth.
Johann Giere is heir to a successful German-American brewery in Columbus, but longs for a career in journalism in New York City. When Johann signs on as the supplier for a new saloon in Westerville, his and Susanna’s paths cross and sparks fly. A fiery temperance crusader, Susanna despises Johann’s profession, but she cannot deny the attraction.
When Susanna learns that Rachel’s children have been indentured to orphanages in the city, she despairs that her family will be fractured forever. But Johann makes Susanna an offer she can’t refuse—pitting her passion and her principles against one another.
If she can find a way for her head and her heart to be in harmony, a future lovelier than daylight awaits her.
Lovelier than Daylight is a story of love and faith based on the Westerville Whiskey War of 1875, a dramatic real historical event featured in the 2011 documentary Prohibition by Ken Burns.
“[S]howcases a fascinating episode of American history, interweaving romance, suspense, and historical detail with unusual depth and realism.” —Laura Frantz, author of Love’s Reckoning and The Colonel’s Lady
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Sexual Content - 1/5
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Violence - 2/5
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Language - 0/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 2/5
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Summary
Overall Lovelier Than Daylightis the third book in the Saddler's Series by Rosslyn Elliott. The protagonist, Susanna Hanby has a strong antipathy towards the use of alcohol. In part this is due to her convictions as a Christian, but these convictions are backed up by the heart ache her sister and nieces and nephews experience because of her alcoholic brotherinlaw. When her sister disappears and her nieces and nephews end up in two different orphanages, Susanna's heart of compassion searches for a way to keep e children from being separated. Ironically, it is through the help of a local German beer master's son that Susanna finds the help she needs and the love of her life. Ms. Elliott's novel depicts the time period that precedes the Prohibition era by thirty or forty years. She weaves into her story some of the arguments against the drink that ruined many a family, while at the same time showing the responsible use of beer/ale. She also depicts a contrasting look at orphanages: some being well run with compassion and tender care; others being grim, dank prison like work houses. All in all, an excellent novel of historical fiction.