Marcia Schuyler

By: Grace Livingston Hill

Narrated by: Anne Hancock

A runaway bride is a staple of screwball comedies, but in the 19th century, it was a source of deep shame and anguish for the bride's family and the prospective groom. When Kate Schuyler vanishes with her sea-captain lover on her wedding morning, her father offers her younger sister, Marcia, as a substitute. David Spafford accepts, and the wedding takes place, with no one the wiser until the vows are read.

The couple then settles in David's hometown. No one there has met Kate, so the switch is undetected.

Sweet young Marcia, who has a girlhood infatuation for David, is thrust into the role of matron, keeping house and entertaining villagers. In addition to a brokenhearted husband, she must deal with his two acerbic aunts, a bitter neighbor who had planned to marry David herself, and the town Lothario.

Will this sister/brother relationship of theirs evolve into a real marriage? Will discovering the interests and values they have in common be enough to change hearts and minds?

Not if the fickle Kate has her way. Now disenchanted with her own husband, she wants to reclaim the lover she had spurned.

Public Domain (P)2019 Anne Hancock

Wonderful Book!!!

I loved this book! It was enjoyable to listen to and a really sweet story!

Marcia Schuyler

This is an delightful book!!!

As soon as I had listened to this book for the first time
I restarted it and listened to the whole book all over again!

Defiantly worth a Credit!😍

Story held up. Easy, enjoyable read

I read this as a teenager with lofty, romantic ideas of what marriage and love would be like. Now, 30 years later, married with two kids, I found this story still to be uplifting and charming and thoroughly enjoyed it. Marcia is far more patient and persevering than anyone I know, but I love her for that. My only gripe was hearing her called "child" so often that I wanted to yell at David. But I still liked his character despite that. I know this was written in a very different time. I really enjoyed the audiobook and felt like the reader did a great job bringing the characters to life. I want to read Miranda next because her character sure had some spitfire in it that was fun to hear.
Something I never paid attention to when I was 15, but found fascinating now, was the talk of the first railroad. That was such a fun glimpse into that time period and the attitudes and opinions of the day.

Charming

A sweet, old fashioned, charming story. I adored it. It was just what I needed.

Delightful story

I was very pleased with the character development specifically the spiritual development of the characters they made mistakes, but they grew spiritually, and they forgave, prayed for people, and prayed for each other and try to form the habit of praying always praying before decisions not just After

Charming, Sweet, Old-Fashioned Read

If you are very tired of this modern world and would like to be transported to 1830’s upstate New York where old-fashioned virtues win the day, this is your book!

Written in 1908, there is nothing ambiguous or modern about the characters- but that doesn’t make them uninteresting. The author spins a tale about the destructiveness of selfishness, vanity and vindictiveness that is engaging and insightful. The hero and heroine of the book are inspiringly virtuous, kind, and self-sacrificing.

I frankly find it incredibly soothing to sink back into a world in which the protagonists are sincerely and deeply concerned about the morality of their actions, routinely pray for guidance, prioritize other people’s feelings above their own, and take pride in the advancement of the country.

You will not enjoy this book if you can’t accept or tolerate the traditional mores of a bygone era. Totally pre-feminist and pre-modern…in fact, thoroughly Victorian. And all the more fun and comforting for it.

Love this story!

I've loved this book since I was a teenager. Great narration by Anne Hancock. Worth the purchase.

My Favorite GLH story

This has been my favorite GLH story for many years. Most of her stories are sappy but this story was excellent. I think this story would have made an excellent movie in the style of the 1940s cinema.

Great narrator, boring story

Maybe it is the era in which this was written, or maybe it was meant for a child from the early 1900's to read, but I found it too sickly sweet and just so perfect it was disgusting. I kept wanting something exciting to happen, like David goes back and forth between the two sisters or something more interesting, then this exceptionally long, predictable and boring story. I felt like I was eating pure sugar and needed some vinegar to spice things up. The narrator was great!