Elsie Dinsmore

Elsie Dinsmore is an endearing eight-year-old girl with several bewildering problems. She has never known her mother, who died when Elsie was a baby, and she longs for a close, loving relationship with her father. He, however, has sent her off to be raised at Roselands, his brothers' Southern plantation, where her teacher, Miss Day, harshly criticizes her and her cousins tease her relentlessly. As Elsie learns to handle her problems, she begins to learn more about herself. And as her faith in her heavenly father grows, she learns what it means to be child of God. The result is a story that inspires and challenges, and readers will take delight in how Elsie comes to depend completely upon faith in God for the peace and happiness she seeks.

Eight-year-old Elsie Dinsmore is enjoying a blissful Christmas holiday season with her family when a crisis arises that threatens to change her life as she knows it. Her father has made a request of her that she believes would violate her conscience, and Elsie feels she must refuse him. But he fails to see her refusal as a matter of her deep faith in God, believing that Elsie is merely being willful and disobedient. Elsie clings to the promise that her heavenly father will not forsake her as, one by one, everything she holds dear is taken from her. When the turmoil brought on by this conflict brings life-threatening illness for Elsie and a life-changing crisis for her father, Elsie's faith is tested to the limits.

As Elsie Dinsmore grows up, her family undergoes major changes. Her father, Horace Dinsmore, falls in love and marries sweet Rose Allison, whom Elsie has loved since childhood. Soon two new members, Horace Jr. and Rosebud, join the happy family. Elsie has grown into a graceful, accomplished, and beautiful young woman of fifteen who faces the difficulties of peer pressure, the allurements of the world outside her family, and the delights and confusion of friendships both false and true. She confronts the greatest crisis of her life while visiting her maiden aunt Wealthy, when she experiences first the joy of first love and then the deep pain of betrayal. In an attempt to cure her broken heart, Elsie's family takes her on a tour of Europe. Upon her return, when she least expects it, Elsie discovers the wonder of true love.

It is time for celebration as Elsie prepares to marry her beloved Edward. Following their wedding, the happy couple honeymoons at Viamede, the childhood home of Elsie's mother in the bayou region of Louisiana. Here Elsie's faith matures, and she learns to share her belief with others in a meaningful way. Four children-Elsie, Edward, Violet, and Harold-are born to Elsie and Edward, who experience the joys and heartaches of parenthood. Meanwhile, the country teeters on the brink of civil war. Mindful of the tragedies unfolding around her, Elsie is touched by the painful divisions brought on by the War Between the States and the devastating loss of family and friends that accompanies it.

In a frightening incident, Elsie's husband, Edward Travilla, narrowly survives an accidental shooting when friends tease son Edward, Jr., into firing a loaded pistol. The shot grazes Edward's head, and he survives with only minor damage. Soon life in the Travilla household returns to its calm routine. In the meantime, Elsie welcomes a cousin from Scotland who brings a very special talent with him as well as news of her mother's ancestral family. Elsie and Edward take great delight in their burgeoning family. The aftermath of the Civil War provides them with many opportunities to uphold their heritage and faith in practical ways, but they are caught up in a campaign against a powerful adversary-the Ku Klux Klan-as they fight to protect the innocent from unjust persecution.

During a stay at Viamede, the family is blessed with a new addition, Lily, "on loan" from heaven for a short time. Then Elsie takes in Cousin Molly, a young girl who has been injured in a fall. Next, Elsie befriends a nearly blind child of her former governess, and Ronald once again joins the family. As Elsie's children move from childhood into adulthood, young Elsie's heart is captured by a fine young man.