A Place Called Trinity [LARGE PRINT] (Hardcover)

by Delia Parr (Author) "A full two weeks later than expected, the blessed moment had finally arrived..." (more)
Key Phrases: forcing pain, birthing stool, academy boys, Reverend Hampton, Aunt Hilda, Doc Beyer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Faint echoes of Jan Karon's Mitford novels and Chris Bohjalian's Midwives surface in this treacly kickoff novel in Parr's projected new series. In 1830, midwife Martha Cade discovers that her 17-year-old daughter, Victoria, has run away from their home in Trinity, Pa., with a traveling theater troupe. After three months of fruitless searching, Martha returns to Trinity to resume her midwifery duties and face the town gossip. In her absence, a young doctor has set up a rival practice and a minister and his wife have established a school for orphan street boys from New York, thereby encountering local prejudice. A bitter conflict develops between some townspeople and a mayor who may or may not have romantic feelings for the widowed Martha. Martha views her midwifery as a Christian calling, focuses on the sisterhood of the birth process, and believes in giving oneself over to God's wisdom while maintaining faith no matter the circumstances. But the recitation of a plethora of characters' birth stories produces an effect something akin to the viewing of other people's vacation slides, particularly when none of the laboring mothers plays a crucial part in the story itself. Furthermore, Martha is prone to dishing the kind of gossip she despises from others, and she displays an incredible ability to perform heroic obstetrics and solve everyone else's problems while not doing much to locate the missing Victoria. While Martha's difficult choice between doing God's work and being a mother may resonate with some readers, flat writing and a lack of tension weigh down a narrative in which there's never any doubt that good will ultimately triumph and faith will be rewarded.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
The latest novel by Parr, author of several popular historical romance novels, represents a new artistic stretch and will surely please her fans. By focusing more on her character's spirituality and internal lives, Parr shows more thoughtfulness than one normally finds in a typical romance novel. The first volume in a planned series, this novel is set in the early 1800s and follows the adventures of midwife and widow, Martha Cade. Martha has just returned to Trinity, Pennsylvania; gone for only three months, Martha is surprised to find how much has changed in her absence. The old community meetinghouse has been moved to make way for a new church; a feud between old friends has escalated; and, worst of all, a new doctor has moved to town and has become a potent threat to Martha's midwifery practice. Parr has done her historical research, which makes for an interesting and enjoyable story that romance fans and readers of historical women's fiction will appreciate. Kathleen Hughes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 491 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; Largeprint edition (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786244437
• ISBN-13: 978-0786244430
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,348,323 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Never satisfied, July 3, 2005

By	Dan "Longsword" (USA, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Place Called Trinity (Hardcover)

Some of us remember tales of a more innocent time in history, when men tried with variable success to live by God's laws and the practice of religion was not widely relegated to those who made it a career. Difficult as it may be to believe, prayer and devotion used to be part of the daily lives of the majority in this nation. Sadly, many of us have never known personally anyone who still lives by such absolute faith.

Parr invites us to follow the daily life of one such woman who seeks to do right rather than walk the easy road. She reminds us of the heritage of our forebearers, the satisfaction of dealing honestly with the world and with God even in those difficult times that come to all.

From her protagonist, a midwife in 1830 western Pennsylvania, we learn how she deals with heartbreak and still unselfishly encourages and helps her neighbors. The rigors of her daily work, the miles she travels to serve, her discretion and diplomacy in dealing with a doctor and his new-fangled theories, the physical aches as well as her loneliness seem to be more easily tolerated by a self-confidence, born of her faith in God.

This tale is gently told without preaching to the reader in a style similar to Jan Karon's Mitford series, perhaps surpassing Karon in the emotional involvement evoked here. Parr leaves us wondering whether progress can successfully be measured against all society has given up in exchange for easy transportation, social security checks, cynicism, serial mates, instant meals, instant pleasures that often seem to send us moving faster and farther seeking more, never satisfied.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars sweet engaging Americana, February 3, 2002

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Place Called Trinity (Hardcover)

For three generations, fiftyish Martha Cade's family has served as the midwives for the people living in and around Trinity, Pennsylvania. However, Martha struggles with the realities of the modern world. Her daughter Victoria has fled home joining a traveling acting troupe rather than take on her "natural" role as the heir apparent midwife. Also that newfangled professional, a doctor, has come to her small town, leaving Martha to wonder how many of her clients will continue to use her services.

In spite of her feelings of failure and inadequacy, Martha continues to make rounds caring for the physical and emotional needs of her patients and a few other individuals. Martha finds her faith helps her through this confidence crisis. However, her inner turmoil is on hold when she becomes embroiled with the shenanigans of the chaplain of Hampton Academy whose courses would leave 1830s educators shocked and dismayed if known. How to prove the chaplain is grooming a bunch of future thieves without getting killed is Martha's dilemma, but her belief in God will help her carry her burden.

A PLACE CALLED TRINITY is a sweet engaging Americana novel starring a kind compassionate individual who turns to faith when her comfortable world seems near collapse. Perhaps a bit too Mother Teresa in outlook, Martha's abilities to surmount her doubts serve as a lesson for anyone struggling with apparently impossible trials and tribulations. Few writers are on a par with Delia Parr, whose latest homespun tale will delight those in the audience relishing an uplifting historical story and will desire more inspirational yarns starring Martha and the townsfolk.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and Uplifting!, November 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A Place Called Trinity (Hardcover)

Delia Parr first took me by storm with EVERGREEN. I've followed her book by book, and never been disappointed. Thought-provoking and more indepth than many romances, her work has always been rich and full. Her venture into TRINITY is a different kind of work for this writer, but every bit as provoking and rich and of the caliber I've come to expect out of a top-notch novelist. TRINITY is a book of hope. Maybe I appreciate it a little more than I would have before 9/11 because collectively we need a lot more healing now than we did then. But then or now, I appreciate the value and worth of healing and hope to readers. Thank you, Ms. Parr--and please, write more--fast!