Lovely and kind, Henry Ann Henry is a young woman whose emotional strength is put to the test when her beloved father dies unexpectedly, leaving Henry Ann to run the farm and cope with a difficult half-sister. Many of her neighboring farmers are struggling to deal with a serious drought and the depression, including handsome Tom Dolan. Tom has more trouble than dry acres however, for his mentally unstable wife is swiftly losing her hold on reality, a fact that endangers both Tom and their small son. Henry Ann's need of a farmhand throws the lovely young woman and the lonely man together, but the obstacles that stand in the way of their happiness may keep the two from realizing their love. A wonderful story liberally salted with nostalgic details of American farm life in the 1930s, With Hope is Dorothy Garlock at her best.


From Publishers Weekly
The bestselling author of Sweetwater and more than 20 other novels tackles Depression-era Oklahoma with wit, freshness and memorable characterization. In 1932, after Henry Ann Henry's father dies, she's left with a farm to run and two disreputable half-siblings to civilize. Soon the young woman's brood grows to include her African American foster mother, a vagrant with a secret past, and the young son of a handsome neighbor whose wife is going mad. There are plenty of troubles to contend with, not the least of which are the wagging tongues of the town gossips. An old-fashioned storyteller, Garlock creates people and places with a tart honesty reminiscent of a more adult version of the "Anne of Green Gables" series. Although the black dialect may grate on modern ears, it still has the ring of authenticity. The book is billed as a historical romance but should have wider appeal. National print advertising. (Sept.) FYI: This is the first of three books by Garlock set in the 1930s; the next, With Song, will be published in spring 1999.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Straying from her more typical late-19th-century time period, Garlock skirts the edges of the contemporary subgenre and launches a promising trilogy of novels set during the Great Depression. Seldom used in romance novels, this difficult, dynamic time comes alive in Garlock's hands as she pens a gritty story about a kind, determined young woman struggling both to attend to her farm and step-siblings and to help her neighbors during the Oklahoma dust bowl days. Garlock's realistic but not always likable characters drive the plot of this vividly depicted romance that calmly and powerfully deals with deception, infidelity, child abuse, and insanity and provides a warm and satisfying love story in the process. Garlock (Sweetwater, Warner, 1998) is a popular writer of earthy, unsentimental Americana-type romances and lives in Clear Lake, IA.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Henry Ann, a resourceful, independent, compassionate, and rather prim spinster, surrounds herself with a group of people that sets the gossiping tongues of her Depression-era town wagging. Not only has she taken in her younger half siblings, who, unlike her, were raised by their whore of a mother, but she has also added to her family the abused baby son of her attractive married neighbor Tom Dolan, the black woman who helped raise her, and a bum from the road who proves to be an exceptional man. Of strong moral fiber, Henry Ann is dismayed to find herself yearning for Tom, whose wife becomes more dangerous and deranged every day. Further conflict is added when her younger sister, taking after the ways of their mother, runs away to live with the notorious and trashy Perry clan. The well-drawn 1930s rural Oklahoma setting contributes to the believability of this satisfyingly warm romance. Readers who enjoyed LaVyrle Spencer's Morning Glory (1990) should find this particularly enticing. Diana Tixier Herald


Download Description
A Warner leading lady takes her beloved Western romances into a new era--and energizes her sales with a wonderful new kind of love story. One of the world's favorite authors, with more than 12 million copies of her books in print worldwide, Dorothy Garlock has won a loyal audience with her ability to blend unforgettable love stories with the down-to-earth reality of the Western frontier. Now she brings us the first novel in an exciting series of three romances set in the 1930s: a time of struggle and change, an era some readers will remember and others will find fascinating new territory to explore. When Henry Ann Henry is left to run her farm alone after her father's death, she is better off than many of her neighbors who are struggling just to hold on to their livelihoods in the face of depression and drought. In such times, neighbor must help neighbor, so Henry Ann helps Tom, a man with a small son and an insane wife. Too late, she realizes she has fallen in love with him. With Hope tells her story with power and passion--Garlock trademarks.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

It is 1932, and Henry Ann Henry has just inherited a farm and to rebellious half-siblings when her hard-working father dies. Tom Dolan, a neighbor in a loveless marriage, offers his skills as a mechanic and farm hand to help her out. Soon the two find themselves falling hopelessly in love, but when Tom's wife is found dead, Henry Ann must fight to prove his innocence and save their love.

SYNOPSIS

Beloved bestselling author Dorothy Garlock has a way of writing that is both old-fashioned and extremely modern, recalling a long-lost time of grandmothers and great-grandmothers in the heartland of America. Her writing is spare and simple yet evocative, and her greatest strength lies in her abilities as a storyteller. With Hope, her sepia-tinted portrait of life and love in Oklahoma in the early years of the Great Depression, is like brilliant light across a dimly lit farmland. Part "The Waltons" and part The Bridges of Madison County, With Hope is a wonderful, heartwarming tale, sure to delight Garlock fans as well as fans of homespun romance.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The bestselling author of Sweetwater and more than 20 other novels tackles Depression-era Oklahoma with wit, freshness and memorable characterization. In 1932, after Henry Ann Henry's father dies, she's left with a farm to run and two disreputable half-siblings to civilize. Soon the young woman's brood grows to include her African American foster mother, a vagrant with a secret past, and the young son of a handsome neighbor whose wife is going mad. There are plenty of troubles to contend with, not the least of which are the wagging tongues of the town gossips. An old-fashioned storyteller, Garlock creates people and places with a tart honesty reminiscent of a more adult version of the "Anne of Green Gables" series. Although the black dialect may grate on modern ears, it still has the ring of authenticity. The book is billed as a historical romance but should have wider appeal. FYI: This is the first of three books by Garlock set in the 1930s; the next, With Song, will be published in spring 1999.

Library Journal