The Quilter's Homecoming (Elm Creek Quilts Series, Book 10) [Paperback]

Jennifer Chiaverini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2008

A Roaring Twenties adventure unfolds in The Quilter's Homecoming, as Jennifer Chiaverini continues her bestselling Elm Creek Quilts series "that neatly stitches together social drama and the art of quilting" (Library Journal). As young bride Elizabeth Bergstrom Nelson sets off with her husband, Henry, from her family home of Elm Creek Manor in Pennsylvania, this rich historical narrative travels to the unfamiliar terrain of southern California, where the adventurous newlyweds embrace a life as dramatic as the landscape.

Expecting to assume ownership of Triumph Ranch, the couple instead learns that their deed is a fake, and that they must work for the rightful proprietors to earn their keep. Resourceful Elizabeth trades her trousseau -- including the fine quilts stitched by her Bergstrom relatives -- for the practical goods the Nelsons need to survive and finds friendship with California native Rosa Diaz Barclay. Yet it is Elizabeth's discovery of a mysterious cache of quilts made by a member of the Diaz family that reveals a misplaced legacy of love, land, and ancestral ties. Only by stitching the rift between the past and the future can the inhabitants of Triumph Ranch hope to live in peace alongside history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chiaverini's latest Elm Creek Quilts installment suffers at the hands of its lackluster hero and heroine. Newlyweds Elizabeth and Henry leave Elizabeth's sprawling Pennsylvania family farm in 1925 to work a Southern California ranch Henry has bought sight unseen. As they ride the train out west, Chiaverini fills in the backstory of the Rodriguez family, the ranch's original owners, who lost the land in the 1880s. When the couple arrive in the picturesque valley, they discover they have been swindled into the poorhouse by an unscrupulous land broker who sold them a fake deed. Determined not to crawl back to their families, Henry works as a hired hand, while Elizabeth cooks for the Jorgenson family, the ranch's true owners. Dispirited and resentful, Henry rejects Elizabeth's encouragement and support, and Elizabeth must decide if the marriage is worth fighting for. On the page, the relationship between Henry and Elizabeth teeters between dull and nonexistent—which hinders the story of a young couple striving to make their marriage work. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

In the tenth entry in her popular series, Chiaverini branches off from a flashback in he Christmas Quilt (2005) to take up the early adulthood of Sylvia Bergstrom Compson's beloved older cousin Elizabeth. Despite four-year-old Sylvia's efforts to keep her from leaving, Elizabeth Bergstrom marries neighbor Henry Nelson at Elm Creek Manor in Pennsylvania in 1925 and moves to southern California, where Henry has bought a cattle ranch. Predictably, plans go awry when the newlyweds find that Henry has been bilked; just as predictably, Elizabeth copes, as Bergstrom women do, even being charitable to those in greater need. The Nelsons' tale is intertwined with that of three generations of the Diaz family, original owners of the Arboles Valley land Henry thought he had bought, and in both families quilts prove to be the tangible expressions of their makers' emotions. Chiaverini's calm narrative blunts even tragedy as the death count reaches double figures, virtue is rewarded, and Bergstrom family ethics and the value of the craft of quilting are perpetuated. A reliably pleasant addition to the series, this should please its fans. Michele Leber
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743260236
• ISBN-13: 978-0743260237
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Chiaverini lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to the sixteen volumes in the Elm Creek Quilts series and four books of quilt patterns inspired by the novels, she designs the Elm Creek Quilts fabric line from Red Rooster Fabrics. For more information about Jennifer, please visit her website at www.elmcreek.net .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Elm Creek trail leads to California, May 23, 2007

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Quilter's Homecoming (Elm Creek Quilts Series, Book 10) (Hardcover)

Once again we follow Chiaverini's lead as her Elm Creek series temporarily leaves central Pennsylvania. But don't despair! This installment provides historical background so that we can piece together (!) the ancestry of some of our favorite characters.

Half of the two-part plot focuses on Elizabeth, Sylvia's cousin, as she accompanies her new husband to California in 1925. Together the newlyweds plan to get into the ranching business in the verdant Arboles Valley, north of Los Angeles. Things don't quite work out as planned, but Elizabeth and Henry Nelson are strong enough to make the most of their situation. Will they really ride out their difficulties in California? Or will Henry send Elizabeth back to Pennsylvania and the Bergstrom family?

The other half of the story belongs to Isabel Rodriguez, whom we first join in 1875. Much of the land of the Arboles Valley, including its signature apricot orchards, belonged to Isabel's family for generations. But drought and development prey on their ancestral lands, and eventually a Norwegian family named Jorgensen takes over the property. That day marks the beginning of seemingly bad times for the Rodriguezes, and then the Diazes, and for Isabel and her family in particular. When her daughter Rosa is courted by two men -- one of them, Lars Jorgensen -- the right choice to make seems clear. But is it? And once made, how can a woman at the turn of the last century deal with an abusive relationship?

This tale-told-in-tandem is simply mesmerizing, as we switch scenes from Elizabeth to Isabel / Rosa, slightly off-kilter because of the time discrepancy. But of course we know full well that the threads will come together at some point. The quilts in these women's lives provide part of the connection. And in this effort, we are NOT disappointed! I can honestly say that this book offers the most satisfying conclusion of any book I have read in recent years. Chiaverini is an expert storyteller who knows exactly how much to reveal to her readers. A must-read, even if you haven't opened the other books in the series.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elm Creek readers will be fans of the newest addition, April 11, 2007

By 

T. M. Anderson "quilter who likes to read" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Quilter's Homecoming (Elm Creek Quilts Series, Book 10) (Hardcover)

In a world where anyone who wants a quilt can go to a department store and for less than $100.00 walk away with a "handmade"item, a book set in an era where such an heirloom as a quilt sewn by hand with the recipient in mind may seem out of place. Unless, of course, you consider the hundreds of thousands of women all over the world who welcome more women (and men) to their ranks each year to do exactly that. Yes, the mechanics have changed from needle, thread and scissors to sewing machines, long arm quilting machines and rotary cutters, but the connecting threads are still the same. Making a quilt is a labor of love and each choice of fabric and pattern reflect the quilt maker and her hopes and dreams for the recipient.
"The Quilter's Homecoming" is the story of Sylvia Compson's dear elder cousin Elizabeth who is a young bride adventurously setting off from Pennsylvania to California with her new husband to find her fortune. Taking with her the legacy of quilting, hard work, and common sense, she represents well the Bergstrom women who showed her by example what it took to make a marriage work.
Readers looking for more of the characters in "Circle of Quilters" had best not look to "The Quilter's Homecoming" to satisfy their appetites. Readers who enjoyed "The Runaway Quilt" and "The Sugar Camp Quilt" are sure to relish yet another story set in the past, this time in the dawning of the twentieth century.
Jennifer Chiaverini's stories, to me, are like quilts. Each one is different but beautiful in a unique way. She doesn't write the same story again and again, simply changing the characters and settings; just like I don't make the same log cabin or nine patch quilt again and again simply changing the colors. Don't let me persuade you that the books are too different from each other that you wouldn't know they were penned by the same author though. "The Quilter's Homecoming" carries the same unmistakable message of hope, perseverance, and love as the stories we already know and love. Readers who are thirsty for a story about how letting go of enmity and pride can heal hearts and families will not be disappointed by this book. No quilter would be disappointed to receive this book, either!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoy this book, June 10, 2007

By 

Tawny Hawkins (Riverton, UT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Quilter's Homecoming (Elm Creek Quilts Series, Book 10) (Hardcover)

Another of Chiaverini's quilting books -- it's always amazing to see how she will work quilting into the plot. Two stories here do eventually converge, though you begin by wondering why there are two stories being told. This one is about Elizabeth, Sylvia's beloved elder cousin who married, moved off to California, and never came back. It's a good read.