Category: Isabella’s Books

Historical facts, background information, and excerpts from Isabella’s books.

The Power of Prayer Giveaway

Published on by Isabella Alden9 Comments

Isabella was a strong believer in the power of prayer. She once wrote:

Prayer is the pulse of the renewed soul; and the constancy of its beat is the test and measure of the spiritual life.

One of Isabella Alden’s talents was creating characters who discovered for themselves the power of prayer in their lives. Some of her characters turned to prayer in times of trouble or to heal a loved one of illness; other characters spoke to God as naturally and as often as they would speak to a close friend or family member.

As wealthy Miss Mary Brown discovered in The Browns at Mount Hermon:

“I would give—oh, what would I not give!—to be able to talk to God as those girls did this afternoon, with the assurance which they evidently had that he heard and cared!”

Book cover for The Brown at Mount Hermon by Isabella Alden showing a young woman holding a letter to her chest with one hand and a hand-addressed envelope with her other hand, while wearing a thoughtful expression.

In her own life Isabella knew the power of prayer. It was through the prayers of her sister Marcia that Isabella chose Christ as her Saviour (read more about that here).

As a busy author and public speaker, Isabella began each day with prayer “to ask God’s help and blessing on the work to be done.” (You can read about that here.)

And in her journal she regularly wrote down prayer requests, notes about sermons, favorite Bible verses, and lessons learned.

The Giveaway:

We’re giving away three “Power of Prayer” journal packages to readers of Isabella’s blog!

Photo of Journal and sticker pack.

Each package includes a lovely prayer journal with . . .

Journal cover. "Good Morning God Prayer Journal" is printed in white against a green background, surrounded by a border of white and yellow flowers.

. . . a daily two-page spread that includes a verse of Scripture, space to record your meditations and prayers, and a generous area to reflect on God’s goodness.

Open journal. Page on left has a text box heading: Remember your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him! Matthew 6:8. Below the text box is the word Prayer and several lines for writing. The right page has the heading "God is good because ..." with several lines for writing.

The set also includes a coordinating sticker pack to help inspire your quiet moments of reflection.

Image of package showing sample stickers that say "It is well with my soul," "Grace," "Have Faith," and "Salt & Light."

To enter the drawing, just leave a comment below or on Isabella’s Facebook page no later than midnight (EDT) on Thursday, September 28.

The three winners will be announced on Friday, September 29. Good luck!

This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration! Join us every weekday in September for a fun drawing, giveaway, or Free Read!

A Golden Text Coloring Book

Published on by Isabella Alden3 Comments

If you’ve read Isabella’s novel The Little Card, you’ll remember that Teenie Burnside used her artistic talents to draw and embellish a little card on which she had written one of the Bible’s Golden Texts. Teenie hoped that by sharing the cards she could encourage someone to read God’s Word.

Book cover for The Little Card showing a young woman standing at an easel, wearing a blue smock over her clothes. In one hand she holds an artist's brush; in the other she holds a palette with dabs of colored paint.

But when Teenie’s health prevented her from fulfilling that dream, the girls in her Sunday-school stepped in and began to make more cards. Some were exact copies of the one Teenie made; others were embellished and colored with paint. But no matter their design, the cards all included a Bible verse of God’s promises to us.

Today’s giveaway is a collection of ten Golden Text Bible verses you can color and embellish, just as Teenie and her friends did.

Image of Bible verse written in different fonts surrounded by line drawings of flowers and leaves. "Be SGrong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord." Psalm 31:24

Just click here or on the image below to download and print the coloring book pages on standard 8-1/2″ x 11″ letter-sized paper.

Cover image with "The Golden Texts; a Bible Verse Coloring Book" printed in gold letters in the center, and large purple, pink, and red flowers bordering the edge of the cover.

if you haven’t read The Little Card, you can read the entire book for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

To read The Little Card on your computer, phone, iPad, Kindle, or other electronic device, click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or choose BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to print the story as a PDF document and share it with friends.

This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration! Join us every weekday in September for a fun drawing, giveaway, or Free Read!

“Let Your Light Shine” Giveaway

Published on by Isabella Alden8 Comments

“I declare!” said teenager Mate Kent to her best friend Jessie Wells. “Won’t you be kind enough to tell me what is the matter with you? Do you know you are growing very queer and strange? Now, make a clean breast of it, and tell me what on earth is the trouble.”

“I’m ashamed,” burst forth Jessie, vehemently, “that is the trouble. Mate, you and I have been professors of religion for four years, and who would know it, unless they happened to come to church on Communion Sabbaths? What have we ever either of us done for Christ? How have we been different from everybody else? No wonder the other girls think I’m a hypocrite. I almost begin to think so myself. It’s all wrong, Mate. The Bible says, ‘Let your light shine before men;’ but I’m sure you and I don’t seem to have any to shine.”

Mate was silent from utter amazement. Scarcely anything could have astonished her more than this sudden outburst from Jessie. She did not speak another word, nor did Jessie, until they reached the latter’s gate. Then Jessie suddenly turned toward her and said, in a voice choked with feeling:

“Mate, let us begin at the beginning, and try again.”

And that’s exactly what Jessie did in Isabella’s novel Jessie Wells.

Book cover for Jessie Wells, showing a teenage girl with long hair that is flowing in the wind. She wears a wide-brimmed hat. With one hand she is holding the hat on her head
Book cover for Jessie Wells by Isabella Alden.

As soon as Jessie got to her bedroom she opened her Bible, and her eye immediately met these words:

“I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore, with loving kindness, have I drawn thee.”

Those blessed words of assurance renewed Jessie’s conviction to let her light shine for Christ from that moment on.

The Giveaway:

We’re giving away “Let Your Light Shine” card sets to three readers of Isabella’s blog!

Photo of a small box containing cards. The lid of the box says "101 Blessings" against a green background. The box says "Let your light shine" against a white background with a floral border.

Each set includes 50 beautifully illustrated cards, each with a Bible verse to inspire you or someone you love to let your light shine.

Use the cards in your daily devotions, share them with others as a message of encouragement, or carry them with you as a helpful way to memorize Scripture.

Photo of an open pack of cards and three of the cards laying face-up beside the box.

To enter the drawing, just leave a comment below or on Isabella’s Facebook page no later than midnight (EDT) tonight, September 21.

The three winners will be announced on Friday, September 22. Good luck!

If you haven’t yet read Isabella’s novel Jessie Wells, click here to go to Amazon.com where you can purchase an e-book version for only 99 cents!

This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration! Join us every weekday in September for a fun drawing, giveaway, or free read!

Paperback Giveaway!

Published on by Isabella Alden7 Comments

What would you do if a man—a stranger—walked into your town and claimed to be the Son of God? Would you believe him?

And what if he could heal the sick and perform astonishing miracles? Would you give up your life to follow him?

That’s the premise of Isabella’s 1898 novel Yesterday Framed in Today: How would you react if God’s Son came to your home town today?

Book cover image of a man and woman standing close together on the edge of a precipice. He holds one of her hands in his. She is dressed in a long white dress; the skirt and sleeves billow out behind her in the wind.

The new stranger in town is David Holman’s last hope. An old injury has confined David to bed for years; but David has heard rumors about a stranger in town—a stranger who can perform miracles and heal the sick. If David can only get close to him, he’s certain the stranger will heal him, too. But David’s family doesn’t trust the stranger, and they search for logical explanations for the miracles they see. Is it possible the stranger truly is the Son of God? Or is he the evil enemy of man, who must be stopped at all costs?

The Giveaway:

We’re giving away three paperback copies of Isabella’s thought-provoking novel Yesterday Framed in Today.

To enter the drawing, just leave a comment below or on Isabella’s Facebook page no later than midnight (EDT) on Thursday, September 21. (Unfortunately, we can only mail books to readers who live in the United States.)

The three winners will be announced on Friday, September 22. Good luck!

This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration! Join us every weekday in September for a fun drawing, giveaway, or Free Read!

New Free Read: Honor Bound

Published on by Isabella Alden8 Comments

Isabella Alden and Theodosia Foster were not just best friends—they were writing partners, too.

Like Isabella, Theodosia was a prolific writer, and published her work under the pen name “Faye Huntington.”

When they got together to write a story, their styles were so similar, and they were so in tune with each other’s talents, it’s impossible for us to tell which of them wrote what chapter or scene.

Today’s free read is a novel they wrote together about the love of money and how it can change (or reveal) someone’s true colors.

Book cover showing the exterior front of a large mansion with tall columns supporting a balcony on the second floor and a wide veranda on the first floor.

Lawrence Brenholz always knew he would inherit his grandfather’s millions once he satisfied the provisions of the will. But on the eve of that momentous day, when all the Brenholz millions would be his, Lawrence’s ornery old Uncle Amos—long thought to have died in the wilds of Colorado—makes a shocking appearance that threatens Lawrence’s inheritance.

With Uncle Amos’ unreasonable demands disrupting every area of his life, how can Lawrence ever again find peace for himself and those he loves?

You can read Honor Bound for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the story on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, or other electronic device. Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can read, print, and share with friends.

This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration! Join us every weekday in September for a fun drawing, giveaway, or Free Read!

The Governor’s Son Giveaway!

Published on by Isabella Alden21 Comments

Before Isabella published a new novel, she often shared the story in chapter-by-chapter installments in magazines. One example is her novel Christie’s Christmas. Before it was published in 1885, part of it appeared in The Pansy magazine under the title “Christie at Home.” Then the magazine’s publisher advertised the story in newspapers across the country:

Newspaper clipping: An everyday and Sunday visitor and friend in your home. In the first place: There is the new cover, dainty and sweet from top to bottom, an index to the fresh, attractive interior. Second: Mrs. G. R. Alden ("Pansy") has written a new serial entitled "CHRISTIE AT HOME," one of her invigorating, strong efforts towards making true men and women of the boys and girls of to-day, and the boys' and girls' fathers and mothers. As fascinating as all her books, is this latest story.
From The Perry County Democrat (Pennsylvania) newspaper, November 5, 1884.

When Isabella’s niece, Grace Livingston Hill began her writing career, she followed suit. Several of her short stories and novels first appeared as serials in magazines before the complete story was published in book form.

In 1905 Grace’s novella The Governor’s Son was published as a serial in a Christian magazine. Then, in 1909, the same story appeared as a serial in a British magazine. Both publications included lovely pen and pencil illustrations of some of the story’s key scenes.

The Governor’s Son is about a young woman named Leslie who spends the summer with her sister and cousin at a seaside resort. Here’s one of the magazine illustrations showing Leslie befriending an elderly woman while on the train to the resort, as her sister and cousin look on.

Illustration of the interior of a train. An elderly woman sits on a bench as a young woman stands beside her in the aisle, offering her a cup of water. Two young ladies are seated behind the elderly woman, watching. In the background another passenger reads a newspaper.

That small act of kindness earns Leslie a new friend, and she and the elderly woman spend quite a bit of time together on the seashore.

Illustration of a young woman in white sitting beside an elderly woman on the beach as they sit under an umbrella near a formation of rocks. The young woman is reading a book. In the background a fisherman tends to his row boat and sailboats sail on the ocean.

The Governor’s Son was never published in book form, but all the complete magazine issues survived, so the story could be pieced together; and it’s now available for purchase on Amazon.com.

The Giveaway:

We’re giving away five e-book copies of The Governor’s Son by Grace Livingston Hill!

Book cover showing a young woman in a long white dress, holding a sun bonnet in her hand, standing at the steps of a piazza as she looks out to sea.

Shy, lovely Leslie Graham would rather spend her summer at home reading a book, but her parents insist she accompany her sister Anna to a seaside resort, where the sisters’ differences quickly come to light. While Anna tries to mingle with the resort’s most fashionable and wealthy inhabitants, Leslie makes friends with sweet, elderly Mrs. Hamilton, who likes to watch the ocean, quote Bible verses, and talk about her son. And when Mrs. Hamilton’s son arrives, Leslie realizes Chauncey Hamilton is just as thoughtful and handsome as his mother described. In the face of such kindness, Leslie can’t help but prefer to spend her days and nights with Chauncey and his mother, even as Anna plots to pull her in a more worldly and dangerous direction.

To enter the drawing, just leave a comment below or on Isabella’s Facebook page no later than midnight (EDT) on Thursday, September 14.

The five winners will be announced on Friday, September 15. Good luck!

If you love Grace Livingston Hill stories and can’t wait until Friday to read The Governor’s Son, you can purchase your copy of the novella by clicking here.

Remember: You don’t have to own an Amazon Kindle to read The Governor’s Son. Just download Amazon’s e-reader app to read the story on any electronic device.

This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration! Join us every weekday in September for a fun drawing, giveaway, or Free Read!

Be a Blessing to Others Giveaway

Published on by Isabella Alden16 Comments

In Isabella’s novel Making Fate Miss Marjorie Edmonds accompanies Leonard Maxwell as he makes New Year’s Day calls on some of the poorest people in town. One of their calls takes them to a small tenement apartment belonging to an elderly woman who is severely disabled.

Book cover for Making Fate showing head and shoulders portrait of a young, pretty woman with copper-brown hair looking directly at the camera.

Poor old Mrs. Baxter can do little but sit beside her window and watch the world go by until her son Jim comes home from work at night. She tells Marjorie:

“Yes, he’s my only one. I buried the others when they were babies; but Jim lived; and what I should have done without him, I can’t even guess; it makes me tremble sometimes, merely to think of it. You see, ma’am, I’m a cripple. I have to be lifted from the bed to the chair, and from the chair back to the bed again. It is going on four years since I’ve taken a step. He fixes me up like this every morning before he goes away; and here I sit until he gets back at night. Jane, next door, comes in at noon and gives me my bit of dinner, and she fixes it almost as nice as Jim could. She works nearby, so she can run home at noon, but Jim doesn’t. I don’t deny that I get pretty lonesome before six o’clock sometimes. Still, my eyes are a good deal of use, for I can see the folks passing, and I can watch the sun setting. We have beautiful sunsets out of this window. Oh, I’ve lots of blessings.”

Hearing Mrs. Baxter joyfully count her mercies was something Marjorie had never experienced before. It gave her an entirely new understanding of how even a small act of kindness could be a blessing to others. That’s the theme of today’s give-away.

The Giveaway:

We’re giving away three “Be a Blessing to Others” prize packages to readers of Isabella’s blog!

Enter to win one of three Journal Prize Packages. To enter, leave a comment below by midnight EDT on Thursday, September 14, 2023. Three winners will be announced on Friday, September 15, 2023! www. IsabellaAlden.com

Each prize package includes:

Journal cover. "Be A Blessing To Others" is printed in silver and encircled by two silver rings against a purple background.

A lovely “Be a Blessing to Others” journal, where you can write about the blessings you’ve received, the different ways you’re a blessing to the people in your life, Bible verses that uplift you, or anything else you feel inspired to write …

Image of a package of four pens. Each pen has a different floral pattern on the barrel of the pen.

… a set of coordinating fine-tip pens …

Booklet cover for collection of notepads and stickers.

… and a booklet of notepads and stickers you can use to decorate your journal, write reminders, and highlight important entries.

To enter the drawing, just leave a comment below or on Isabella’s Facebook page no later than 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, September 14.

The three winners will be announced on Friday, September 15, 2023. Good luck!

You can read Isabella’s novel Making Fate by clicking here.

This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration! Join us every weekday in September for a fun drawing, giveaway, or Free Read!

We're 10! It's our Blogiversary Celebration. IsabellaAlden.com. September 2023. Join Us!

Paperback Giveaway!

Published on by Isabella Alden18 Comments

Isabella Alden’s classic Christian novel Links in Rebecca’s Life is now available in print, and we’re giving away 3 free copies!

Cover image. A young woman wearing clothes from about 1900 stands in the center of the cover. She is wearing a wide-brim bonnet with a feather that trails off to one side. Over her arm she carries a red coat. Behind her is a blue cloudy sky and a green field.

Rebecca Harlow is an eager and tireless worker for the church. She never misses a prayer meeting, and even schedules social calls to encourage friends to attend church. But when her careless words spread like wildfire through town, Rebecca must learn that it’s her everyday actions that have the power to influence others for Christ.

One of Isabella Alden’s most popular novels, Links in Rebecca’s Life is a wonderful book to have on your bookshelf or to give as a gift to someone you love.

The drawing is open to all U.S. residents. To enter, just leave a comment below or on Isabella’s Facebook page no later than 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, September 7.

The three winners will be announced on Friday, September 8. Good luck!

This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration!

Join us tomorrow for another fun giveaway!

New Free Read: Nell Jenkins

Published on by Isabella Alden1 Comment

By the early 1900s Isabella’s career as an author began to fade. After forty years of writing Christ-centered novels and countless magazine and newspaper articles, the American reading public began to label her writing style as “old-fashioned” and “narrow.”

Magazine editors cut ties with Isabella; they cancelled her regular advice columns and declined to publish her serial stories.

After her book publisher, Daniel Lothrop, died in 1892, his publishing company changed ownership, and the new owners declined to publish any more of Isabella’s novels.

But Isabella was still writing at that time, and she did her best to find a publisher willing to accept her stories. In 1911 she submitted two novels to Gorham Press in Boston, Massachusetts. The titles were:

Her Own Way

Nell Jenkins

Today, we would call Gorham Press a “vanity publisher”; meaning, they printed and distributed an author’s book at the author’s expense.

Gorham’s owner, Mr. Richard G. Badger, immediately accepted Isabella’s submissions and sent her contracts to sign.

Ultimately, Gorham published Her Own Way in 1912, according to this entry found in the Cumulative Book Index of American Literature dated 1913:

Book excerpt showing books published by author Isabella Alden in 1912, including: Her own way. $1.25. '12. Badger, R. G.

However, there’s no record to indicate Her Own Way was ever distributed to stores; nor was it ever reviewed in newspapers or Christian periodicals from that period. It’s possible Isabella paid to have a limited number of copies printed, which she distributed herself.

Fortunately for us, Nell Jenkins (the second novel Isabella submitted to Gorham) was one of the last serial stories Isabella had published in a Christian magazine. Even more fortunate, all the magazine issues survived so we can piece together the chapters and enjoy the entire story!

Cover image showing head and shoulders of a young woman in clothes from about 1900. She has a large bonnet on her head and is holding the bonnet's ribbons in both hands as if she is about to tie them.

Rebecca Kent finds herself in a difficult situation when her best friend’s husband asks her to keep a secret. It doesn’t take long for Rebecca to realize something strange is going on, and the secret she vowed to keep could very well ruin her best friend’s marriage.

If you like a bit of mystery in your Pansy stories (as in her novels Pauline and Wanted), you’ll enjoy Nell Jenkins!

You can read Nell Jenkins for free!

Choose the reading option you like best:

You can read the story on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, or other electronic device. Just click here to download your preferred format from BookFunnel.com.

Or you can select BookFunnel’s “My Computer” option to receive an email with a version you can read, print, and share with friends.

REMEMBER: There’s still time to enter the Promises From God Giveaway drawing. Just leave a comment below or on Isabella’s Facebook page no later than 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, September 7.

The winners will be announced on Friday, September 8. Good luck!

This post is part of our 10-Year Blogiversary Celebration! Join us tomorrow for another fabulous giveaway!

Image of tall 3-tier cake with pink frosting and 10 gold candles on top. 10 YEARS! It's a Blogiversary Celebration! September 2023. IsabellaAlden.com.

Pansy’s Ministers

Published on by Isabella Alden2 Comments

Before Isabella’s novel What They Couldn’t was published in 1895, it appeared as a serial story in a Christian magazine.

Book cover showing four young women near a table; two stand with their arms around each other; two are seated while one plays the guitar. An older woman stands at the table stirring the contents of a silver chafing dish.

The story centers around the Cameron family and the difficult adjustments they face when their wealth disappears. Not only do they have to learn to pinch pennies, they also have a difficult time figuring out who they can trust, and that includes the Reverend Mr. Edson.

One subscriber to the magazine who read the story was upset by the way Isabella portrayed Mr. Edson as a social-climber himself. The reader was so upset, he wrote a letter to the magazine’s editor to complain:

A subscriber calls attention to the portrayal of the young minister in Mrs. Alden's story, and asks: What percent of Presbyterian pastors would make use of such language as is there put into his mouth? Has any member of your force ever known a minister to speak such words about a member of his congregation? If Mrs. Alden knows such a pastor, it would be better to give his true name, and not attempt to make the impression that he is representative.

He was certainly upset enough to close his letter by issuing a direct challenge to Isabella!

If Mrs. Alden knows such a pastor, it would be better to give his true name, and not attempt to make the impression that he is representative.

Luckily, Isabella didn’t have to respond because others responded for her. The magazine published this response:

Mrs. Alden does not put the character forward as a representative of the ministry in general. No writer of the day has a higher appreciation of the ministers, or does more to help them in their work, than she.

And here’s what one of her defenders wrote in a letter that the magazine published the following month:

One Case. Here in the State of Washington was just such a minister as the one Pansy speaks of in her story. In fact, he told me that his congregation did not suit him; that he could not preach a good sermon to it because the people in it were not refined and intelligent enough. I will add that he is supposed to have left the ministry. [signed] M.H.M.

Of course, What They Couldn’t was fiction and—as authors often state— “any resemblance by any character to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.” But in her years as a teacher and as a minister’s wife, Isabella probably met a church pastor or two who, like Mr. Edson, was more concerned with ministering to the wealthy members of his flock than the less privileged congregants who could have benefited from his guidance.

Have you read What They Couldn’t? If not, you can read it for only 99¢ from your favorite online retailer: