In 1850, Mellicent “Mellie” Blanchard takes a job at a mill in Manchester, New Hampshire, to help support her family. In search of additional earning opportunities, she approaches a daguerreotype shop owner with the proposal that he hire her to make paper cuttings or silhouette portraits for those who can’t afford an expensive daguerreotype.When a particularly charming customer–whose broad smile … broad smile and twinkling eyes catch her off guard–asks to escort her home, the seeds of romance begin to blossom. All the pieces of her new life seem to have fallen perfectly into place, but when her new venture brings her an unexpected opportunity, she is confronted with the truth that all is not as it seems. Will Mellie, who is keeping secrets of her own, find happiness in the new life she has carved out for herself in the busy mill town?
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There’s just something wonderful about the way Judith Miller pens her Historical Romance fiction stories. She has never failed to draw this reader into her books. She gives her readers an escape from the stress of today’s world as they enter her world of fiction in the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds. Her well researched stories seem so real and have a smooth flow to them.
In The Perfect Silhouette readers are introduced to a young lady named Millie Blanchard. She was raised in a wealthy family on the good side of town, but then her parents both died and due to her brother in law’s poor management of her money and his embezzling of her inheritance she was forced to find work at a mill in a distant city. She had to transition from a privileged girl to a poor working girl very quickly. Her goal was to send as much money home as she could to her now widowed sister and her two children, from her meager paycheck of four dollars a week.
The mill work was hard and physically demanding and she worked in terrible conditions that we don’t experience in this day and age. Long hours at the mill and due to the fact that she had to pay for her rent she took on a second job at a photography shop where she did paper cuttings or silhouette portraits for people who couldn’t afford the price of an actual photo session. It was there she ment a young man who came into the shop to have a silhouette cutting done. The young man was smitten by Millie but she had little time for him. There was things she didn’t know about Morgan Williams. He was not who he seemed to be for he was not truthful with her and kept a secret about his identity to Millie and his coworkers at the mill. Would Millie fall for this young man and be deceived by his charms?
Readers of Historical Romance or Christian Fiction will love this book. It’s a stand alone book with over three hundred pages. I loved it and I highly recommend it.
I downloaded an ebook version from my library’s Hoopla App. A review wasn’t requested. All opinions expressed here are my own.
I read this a couple of months ago but didn’t want ot skip a review becuase overall this was nice. It had some good themes about honesty, the ills of gambling, and strength of character. Though the story line of the lottery seemed less subtle and a bit towards the moralizing side. I do agree lotteries are not good. However, not a big deal and didn’t take away from the rest of the story. I did find the H & h likeable and wanted them to end up together.
Mellie left her home in Concord to help supplement her families income. Gambling debts and embezzlement have ruined her family leaving her sister a widow with young children. Mellie has such a strong sense of family and responsibility that she knows she must help them even if it means working in a mill.
Morgan is the son of the owner of the mill. He wants to work as a laborer to see what he can do to help out the workers and help the business run more efficiently. He knows he has a better chance of succeeding if he is seen as a fellow employee. He also has a strong sense of responsibility and family.
It only makes sense that the two would be attracted to each other and find things in common. I loved the simple part of their romance. The conflict comes when they realize that they haven’t been completely honest with each other.
I found this story to be very sweet. I enjoyed reading their story. I was particularly interested in the art of paper cutting. I had to go and look up the technique. It is truly fascinating that someone could create delicate works art with a pair of scissors.
I wish that I could have know what happens to Mellie’s sister and her children. I would have loved if the story could have taken them on a visit to her sister’s home. This is a sweet story with a happily-ever-after.
Source: I received a complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
A Perfect Silhouette by Judith Miller is the second Christian Historical I’ve read recently involving working in the mills. Set in 1850 New Hampshire, we view the mill town, boarding house, and mill itself through the eyes of one young woman, Mellie Blanchard. We see the deplorable conditions within the mill walls, sweating to near-fainting with Mellie and breathing in stifling lint-laden air. The undeniable monotony of watching the loom shuttles whiz back and forth may have threatened to put me to sleep!
I thought William Morgan was very brave to take on a role beneath his social class in order to discover more about the true workings of his family’s mills.
There were some details about the looms that were hard for me to follow, or I wanted to leave for business people like Morgan and his father.
Trust and forgiveness are themes that are addressed as are loving one’s enemies, plus standing for one’s convictions.
One part of the story I am still puzzling over- could it really have happened like that? I’m not quite convinced.
I have enjoyed reading Miller’s books as she has lately taken us through several different professions in America’s history.
Quotes:
« He’d stepped into this new identity thinking he could do good, yet each lie had required another. He was beginning to have trouble sifting the lies from the truth. »
« “Prayer is our best hope—in all circumstances… »
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my opinions for which I am solely responsible.
I requested and received this book through NetGalley and Baker Publishing. I am not forced to leave a review either positive or negative. This review is freely given and my own opinion.
I enjoy reading books by Judith Miller and I enjoyed this book also. When I started the book, I thought I had previously read it but knew that couldn’t be true. I had read a book that involved the millworkers in that region and time period in a different book years ago. The only similarity was the description, a very accurate description, of the mills and working/living conditions.
The main characters in this book were well thought out and well-executed.individuals. The storyline was pretty believable also. It is, of course, a fiction book but well done. It is also a Christian fiction and that aspect is also well done. It shows God and a Christian life without being preachy.
I do not like reading books that need a lot of editing. Even though this was an advanced reader copy, the editing was well done. Not perfect but almost so. The story was well thought out and flowed smoothly. I was sorry when it ended. I would have liked it to go on a bit more to show what happened to Mellie and her sister.
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to anyone wanting to read historical fiction.
Starting with a side-note here: I’m a huge Avengers fan. I’m not going to lie, every time I read the surname Stark in this book, I thought of Tony Stark and I kept picturing his (Tony’s) dad as in place of the character in the book.
Aside from that odd little side note, I enjoyed this story, although I wish the conflicts weren’t quite so easily resolved. I like happy ever after stories and enjoy seeing issues resolved, but it seemed to happen a little too effortlessly in this book. I need a little bit of struggle to make it seem more realistic.
Reading about what life was like as a mill worker was fascinating. I knew that people worked really long hours in difficult conditions, but this story made it more real to me. I also wasn’t aware that they had so many rules in their (very limited) off hours.
I was intrigued by Mellie’s talent at Scherenschnitte (paper cutting), enough so that I had to google it to find out just what it was all about. Definitely a lot more labor intensive than what I was originally picturing. What a fun talent that would be to have.
This was an enjoyable, clean book to read.
I’m a Judith Miller fan and love the Historical aspects of her novels. It is so interesting to read of times that our history books never mention in school. While reading this I can imagine how humid and full of lint particles the mills were. You can hear the coughs of the workers and how rushed they were to get to the boarding house to eat and rush back to work. These people had to have a lot of stamina and a desire to work. I can’t imagine how hard it was for Mellie after having a more genteel upbringing and because of choices by her brother in law was forced to provide for her family. I was fascinated to read about her scherenschnitte in a novel as I have made Christmas ornaments using this technique and it was impressive that Mellie could do silhouettes to supplement her income. I love the authors unique writing style and her subplots. This book shows that choices by others affect others, that lying even for a good reason has consequences, & that forgiveness is paramount in a relationship. My only complaint is that I felt like there were unanswered questions where Mellie’s sister was concerned that I wish I knew more about. Maybe a sequel is in the making. I enjoyed this book immensely especially the unique plot line.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher/author. The honest review and opinions are my own and were not required.
I really enjoyed this book, and although I thought I figured out the ending early on. While there is a bit of romance here, there are so many subplots going on, like real life, you will never get bored, and it will keep you page turning.
We get an up-close look at the mills that were an important part of the economy on the East Coast, and also see how unpleasant it was to work there. Wonder anyone had hearing left, or lungs, and the humidity and heat!
We get a glimpse of life as the workers living in a boarding house, gulping their meals and trudging back to work to do it again.
This is a story to get lost in, a great clean summer read!
I received this book through Net Galley and Bethany House Publishers, and was not required to give a positive review.
This is a story that I would qualify as a very sweet, wholesome story. It reminded me of the essence of Grace Livingston Hill books in which everyone is just good. There are characters who aren’t so perfect, but once Mellie shows them where they have gone wrong, they are quick to find their true path.
Mellie has moved to town to become a mill girl for one of three mills in this town. She finds herself in a boarding house sharing the attic room with several girls. One of the girls on the first day discovered Mellie’s secrets in her journal and threatened to tell all, unless Mellie met her demands.
For me, the book was just too sweet. I used to read Grace Livingston books religiously, owning quite a few from her collection. There were some books I have held on to over the years, but they all held the same wholesome theme. I enjoyed learning about the silhouette’s, although the way she would describe them to Morgan and anyone else, it just felt like it was a bit of prissyness. So while the story and plot overall was good, there just wasn’t enough to keep me interested. The story just seemed too pat. Easily solved and finished.
Would I read this book again? Probably not. I know many will love it, but I just felt it lacked some depth of character and issues. I do appreciate the end of the story, but just felt like it ended just a bit too soon.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.