Tag: Magazine

The Spirit of Steel and a GLH Quiz

Published on by Isabella Alden2 Comments

Like her aunt Isabella Alden, Grace Livingston Hill often shared her novels with the public by publishing them in magazines prior to finalizing them in book form.

In 1929 one of her stories appeared as a serial in Good Stories magazine under the title “The Spirit of Steel.” You can see it listed on the magazine’s cover below:

One of the great advantages of having her stories published in magazines first, is that the magazines often employed artists to illustrate scenes from the story. Here’s one of the illustrations from Grace’s story “The Spirit of Steel,” depicting the two main characters meeting for lunch:

But when Grace published the story as a book, she changed the name of the story from “The Spirit of Steel” to something else.

Using the hints below, see if you can guess the name Grace gave the story when it was published as a hardback book in 1929.

Hint #1

Carol, the heroine of the story, works as a secretary in a construction firm.

Hint #2

When her boss falls ill on the eve of an important business trip to a construction site, Carol takes his place.

Hint #3

The story takes a suspenseful turn when Carol realizes she’s being followed by two men as she travels by train to the construction site.

Hint #4

Upon arriving at the construction site, Carol decides that her first order of business is to fire the handsome and attractive job foreman. There’s just one problem: he refuses to be fired!

Can you guess the name of the beloved Grace Livingston Hill novel that was originally called “The Spirit of Steel”?

Answer:

Grace renamed the book Duskin when it was published as a hardback book in 1929.

If you guessed the right novel from these few hints, congratulations! You’re a GLH expert!

If you haven’t read Duskin yet, you can read it for free on your computer or Kindle reader. Just click here to begin reading!

The Search by Grace Livingston Hill

Published on by Isabella Alden6 Comments

Isabella’s niece Grace Livingston Hill kicked off 1919 on a high note.

That was the year Grace’s novel The Search was published as a serial in a popular Christian magazine. The first chapter appeared in the January 1, 1919 issue.

Here’s the announcement the magazine ran the month before to notify readers about the upcoming serial (click on the image to see a larger version).

Although it’s fun to discover Grace’s stories in early newspapers and magazines, it’s even better when they’re accompanied by illustrations by the leading artists of the day.

John Cameron’s eyes met those of Ruth Macdonald. (From chapter 1 of The Search by Grace Livingston Hill.)

Artist William Charles McNulty (whose pieces are included in collections at The Metropolitan Museum of Art) illustrated three scenes from The Search for the magazine.

“I’d like to have you for one of my friends.” (From Chapter 3 of The Search by Grace Livingston Hill)

McNulty’s illustrations add a rich sense of time and place to the story, from the old-fashioned automobile Ruth drove, to the characters’ clothing, and the quiet place John found (in chapter 4) to read Ruth’s letter.

He tore the letter open and a faint whiff of violets floated out to him. (From chapter 4 of The Search by Grace Livingston Hill)

Later that same year, The Search was published in book form by Lippincott, and was well received by Grace’s fans; but the magazine version remains special, because of its illustrations.

If you haven’t read The Search, you’re in luck! You can read the e-book for free on your tablet, phone, Kindle or computer!

Amazon.com offers the e-book book at no charge. Just click on the banner below to begin reading:

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