Our Lizzie

June 1, 2003
Young Lizzie Kershaw knew that her mother hated her. It didn't matter what Lizzie did or how good she tried to be; her mother would always find something wrong with her. A part-time job with Dearden's shop helped get Lizzie out of the house. Then a few years later, when Sam Thoxby proposes, Lizzie grasps the chance to get away permanently. But once they're wed, Lizzie discovers she has escaped from one unhappy household into another as Sam turns into a stranger, forbidding her to talk to family and friends, not allowing her to work, and eventually becoming abusive whenever she angers or defies him. As England becomes involved in World War I and Sam goes off to fight, Lizzie finally escapes, but when Sam returns, Lizzie finds her new happy life, and second chance at love, threatened. A stubbornly courageous young woman endures an abusive marriage and then manages to create a more hopeful future in Jacobs' captivating, wonderfully old-fashioned historical novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)