Annie's Stories by Cindy Thomson

Annie's Stories by Cindy Thomson
Published by Tyndale House Publishers ISBN 978-1-4143-6845-0
Trade paperback, $14.99, 386 pages

Cindy Thomson's Ellis Island series began with Grace's Pictures, about a young Irish immigrant who comes to New York City at the turn of the 20th century. She finds work as a nanny for a family and a room at a boarding house run by a kind Christian woman, and becomes enthralled by photography.

The second book in the series is Annie's Stories, about another young Irish immigrant who lives in the same boarding house. Annie is the housekeeper at Mrs. Hawkins' boarding house. She was raised by her father, a storyteller called a seanchaithe, in Ireland. When her father died and Annie went to live with her an uncle, who treated her poorly.

Her uncle shipped her off to the Magdalene Laundries, a horrible place for girls who are abandoned by their families. Many of the girls were pregnant and gave birth to babies there. (The Magdalene Laundries have been in the news over the last year, and the Oscar-nominated movie Philomena dealt with this issue as well.)

Eventually Annie was sent to New York to live. Annie's father left her with a small writing desk, filled with children's stories he created for Annie. She treasured these stories, and reading them gave her great comfort.

The local postman, Stephen, has a crush on Annie, but he hasn't worked up the courage to tell her. They both enjoy reading, and Stephen suggests that they read the hottest book in publishing, The Wizard of Oz, so that they could discuss it together.

As someone who loves to read, I really enjoyed the role that books and the publishing industry played in the story. Stephen lives above a publisher's offices, and we get to glimpse how publishing worked in the early 1900s.

Thomson does a great deal of research for her books, and because of that, the reader feels dropped right into the middle of this fascinating era in New York City. There is a subplot that involves the Pinkerton Detectives and another boarder, and the steely resolve that Mrs. Hawkins shows in dealing with an unpleasant situation is impressive.

Annie's faith is a very important part of her life, and it informs everything she does. Mrs. Hawkins is a deeply religious woman as well, and their strength of faith is inspirational to readers.

I so enjoyed catching up with Grace as they all prepare for her wedding to Sgt. McNulty, a policeman. Perhaps we might see another wedding in a future Ellis Island book?

Anyone who wants to add to their reading list will have some new suggestions too, from Jules Verne's Facing the Flag to H.G. Wells First Man on the Moon  and of course, Frank L. Baum's The Wizard of Oz, which plays such a big role.

If you enjoy historical fiction and Christian fiction, Annie's Stories is a must-read for you. I felt like I was catching up with old friends, and made some new ones that I hope to meet up with again the near future.

rating 4 of 5

Cindy Thomson has a website filled with her fascinating research and you can find it here.
My review of Grace's Pictures is here.

Grace's Pictures by Cindy Thomson

Grace's Pictures by Cindy Thomson
Published by Tyndale House Publishers ISBN 978-1-4143-6843-6
Trade paperback, $12.99, 385 pages

This must be the month for Irish immigrant stories. First we had the second in a trilogy, Kate Kerrigan's City of Hope (my review here). Now we have Cindy Thomson's Grace's Pictures, a story about a young Irish girl who comes to America in 1900, hoping to earn enough money to bring her mother over.

Grace was sent to live in a workhouse in Ireland after her mother was thrown out of their home. With no money, her mother was able to get Grace the opportunity to go to New York, where a church organization would help Grace find a job.

It always amazes me how these young people left their homes and families, got on a ship, and traveled across the sea, never truly knowing what would be awaiting them on the other side. What bravery that took!

Grace is taken to Reverend Clarke, a man of God who helps immigrants find work and form a community. My favorite line in the book is from Reverend Clarke, who said to Grace, "And I ask myself, is there more love in the world because of what I'm doing? If not, I need to change that." Imagine if everyone in the world followed that idea, what a lovely place this would be.

Grace finds work as a nanny to a family of five young children. Their mother appears indifferent and their father is a busy businessman, who wants to control everything and everyone. Grace has a hard time at first dealing with them all, but she grows to love the children.

Thomson has a way with a phrase, like this one: "Owen's mother and her friend jabbered so much a candle didn't have a chance of staying lit in the room." She drops us right into the setting, teaching us the slang of the day, such as "peeler" for police officer.

Her visual imagery is strong as well, describing a group of newsboys sleeping in a doorway as "huddled together like puppies." I immediately had that picture in my mind. Grace takes her young charges to Battery Park, and Thomson's description of that scene brought the place to life, as they dodged pretzel vendors and young boys" hawking trinkets".

The theme of immigrants and how they are perceived by the society is a timely topic, as Congress is now debating how best to deal with the immigration issue in our country. We can see in this novel that, although set over 100 year ago, the treatment of immigrants is a topic our country has grappled with for a long time.

A unique aspect of this story is Grace's infatuation with the newfangled Brownie camera. Grace meets a photographer and is entranced with his work. She saves her money, buys herself a simple camera, and teaches herself to takes photos. At times, this gets her into trouble as she accidentally takes photos of a mobster who doesn't want to be photographed. This storyline adds an interesting piece to the novel.

There is a love story, and some action as Grace's camera gets her into trouble. I liked that Grace found people who helped and encouraged her, rather than took advantage of her as we often see in stories like this. We also see New York at the turn of the century, along with the internal politics of the police department. Thomson clearly did a great deal of research for this novel.

If you like immigrant stories, Grace's Pictures is one you should not miss. I'm hoping that we meet Grace and her friends again in the future as she surely has more of her story to tell.

rating 4 of 5

Cindy Thomson's website is here (and you can read Chapter 1 of Grace's Pictures).