Marta's Legacy

I have dipped my toe into a bit more Francine Rivers - Her Mother's Hope and Her Daughter's Dream.  This two-novel series about four generations of women is loosely based on Rivers’ own history, and that of her mother and grandmother. The grandmother Marta was born in Switzerland in the 1890s. Having grown up under a harsh father and a gentle yet sick mother, she flees to the promise of a better life, first in England, then over to Canada, where she finds love and has a family.

Having seen a weak and shy sister never leave the nest, she determines not to let the same happen with her daughters and so when her eldest daughter, Hildemara also proves to be sickly and shy, Marta makes it her goal to push her daughter on, to make her strong and independent.

Of course, Hildemara sees this as her mother never loving her and always wanting her gone. She never feels like she lives up to her mother’s hopes for her. Little does she know, Marta loves Hildemara more than any of her other children, yet struggles to show it.

Into this strained relationship, Hildemara gives birth to Carolyn. As the years progress, and similarly strain develops between these two we see how women can distance the ones they love and never communicate through issues properly. Carolyn and her daughter May Flower Dawn bring the story right to the present day.

They are two good books, which explore well the relationships between the female generations of a family over 100 years. I liked them because they are very readable, the characters are believable and because they are written by a Christian woman, they are edifying to read rather than depressing.