Flint Hills Books In Order
- The Firebird (1998)
- Sarah’s Window (2001)
- Safe Harbour (2003)
Novels
- The Tailor’s Daughter (2006)
Flint Hills Book Covers
Novels Book Covers
Janice Graham Books Overview
The Firebird
In the tradition of The Horse Whisperer comes a novel from the heart that tells a story of universal truths of the love between men and women and mothers and daughters; of passion that transcends tragedy; of promises made and promises kept. Janice Graham’s Firebird is an extraordinarily accomplished first novel that will be published around the world and has been named a main selection of the Literary Guild, already marking this as one of the most noteworthy debuts of 1998 and assuring Graham a brilliant future as a greatly beloved storyteller. Set in the majestic Flint Hills of Kansas, Firebird tells of a man caught between two women one who shares his life and his dream of land and cattle; the other a stranger whose love threatens to destroy the dream he has built. Ethan Brown is a gentleman rancher an Ivy educated lawyer who is as comfortable amongst his books as he is at ease in the company of cowboys. Engaged to the daughter of the wealthiest landowner in the county, he is within reach of the life he has worked so hard to achieve. Annette Zeldin enters Ethan’s life when she returns from Europe to settle her mother’s estate. A concert violinist, she feels every inch the outsider in the closed ranching community of Cottonwood Falls and clings to her darling young daughter, her lifeline. The time Annette spends with Ethan in his office offers her moments of comfort and communion, and before long, both must acknowledge the passion growing between them. Annette and Ethan begin a clandestine, transcendent affair that promises to change the landscape of their lives, but is too soon torn apart by tragedy. Yet their connection is soul deep and everlasting, and their love transforms the lives of those around them in ways subtle and unknown long after its embers have died down. Graham skillfully infuses the novel with ethereal touches that transport the reader from the vast prairies of the Midwest to the intimate realm of the heart. Firebird is a novel that richly articulates the enduring possibilities of love; it is a novel impossible to forget. A Literary Guild Main Selection
Sarah’s Window
Janice Graham’s unforgettable second novel is a love story from the heartland: a classic romantic triangle, driven by the forces of providence, played out against the wild natural beauty of the Flint Hills. Her debut novel Firebird was an international success and launched Janice Graham into the ranks of our most beloved storytellers. LaVyrle Spencer, Mary Higgins Clark, and Anne Rivers Siddons all generously praised the novel, while Booklist hailed the author as ‘an undeniably talented writer.’ Now Graham returns with a powerful love story, unique in its setting yet utterly universal. Raised by her grandparents in the Flint Hills of Kansas, Sarah Bryden puts aside her dreams of higher learning and world travel when her grandfather suffers a devastating accident. She leaves college and returns to the tiny town of Bazaar, waiting tables at a local caf and passionately nourishing in secret her creative spirit. Sarah is a loner, but there is a magic about her, apparent to all who meet her. Also returning to small town life are John and Susan Wilde. John has taken a leave of absence from Berkeley to settle in the heart of the Flint Hills with his wife and their newly adopted son, hoping that the quiet and wide open spaces will ease them into their new roles as parents and fortify their frail little boy. When Sarah encounters the child, however, there is an instant connection, a feeling of old souls meeting, and John can’t help but notice how naturally she takes to the boy in stark contrast to his wife, who has grappled with motherhood from the very start. Sarah awakens John and she in turn is captivated by him his energy, his will, his brilliance. Around the structure of the classic romantic triangle, the conflict unfolds. And amid a series of disasters, both natural and man made, John, Sarah, and Susan learn to honor the forces of the universe that compel lives together and just as forcefully tear them apart. Intelligent writing, unforgettable characters, and vivid prairie landscapes make Sarah’s Window a book to take to heart.
Safe Harbour
As Canon of the Parisian cathedral of St Michael’s, Crispin Wakefield has attracted both a loyal, devoted following but also the jealousy of his Dean. And while his faith demands frugality, the expensive indulgences of his wife and daughters are threatening financial ruin. Into this turmoil steps Julia Kramer, international actress and childhood friend from Crispin’s family home back in Kansas. And despite the different paths their lives have taken, Julia and Crispin find comfort in a friendship deeply rooted in a common past. With her partner Jona frequently away, Julia is drawn into the cocoon of Crispin’s family and his beloved cathedral. Deeply indebted, Julia uses her celebrity and wealth to promote Crispin’s career, and offers him the moral strength he needs to stay the course. But though it is Crispin who guards the secrets of Julia’s traumatic childhood, he knows nothing of the crippling fears that have left her dangerously in thrall to Jona. When Jona’s business dealings lead him into deadly waters, she turns to Crispin for support, igniting vicious gossip that consumes the already fragile underpinnings of their lives…
The Tailor’s Daughter
Set in 1860’s Victorian England, Janice Graham’s suspenseful new novel tells the story of Veda Grenfell, a passionate young woman with an indomitable spirit. Raised on Savile Row, the enclave of fashionable London tailors, Veda is every inch her father’s daughter. She has inherited his talent, his sense of style, and his love of tailoring. When a fever leaves her deaf at the age of sixteen, shattering her hopes of marriage, only Grenfell’s familiar workshop offers any promise of an active life. Determined to prove her worth in a world off limits to respectable women, Veda eventually persuades her father to promote her to the front of the shop where she . She makes a name for herself as tailor to London’s smart young sporting set. Veda matures into a woman of eye catching beauty, inspiring the devotion of her dear and faithful tutor, Mr. Nicholls, as well as an ambitious Italian whose marriage proposal she rejects, with disastrous consequences for her father’s firm. For years, Veda has been increasingly drawn to Harry Breadalbane, a young viscount with humane ambitions frustrated by the expectations of his class. Heedless of the unsettling rumors about Harry’s family and his brutally powerful father, Veda has absolute faith in Harry’s goodness. When passion turns to betrayal, she abandons her beloved Savile Row and sets off on a treacherous journey that will lead her into a world of deception, murder, and madness. In the classic tradition of richly detailed historical fiction, Graham’s elegant prose paints a deeply human portrait of a girl both willful and confused, vulnerable and yet fiercely courageous. Veda’s chronicle of her struggle to sustain ties with the hearing world, and her determination to seize for herself those dreams others try to deny her, render her character unforgettable and illuminate a world rarely imagined in literature.
Related Authors