Guest Author - Diana Pederson

Gilbert Morris. The Shining Badge. Bethany House. 2004.


Prohibition, bootleggers, liquor, politics, gangsters: these all come into play in The Shining Badge. This historical novel is set in the days of prohibition and the depression. The Winslow family lives in the south. Jennifer Winslow had lived in New York, living the life of a socialite, until her family lost everything in the stock market crash of 1929.

Jennifer is living back on her family farm in Georgia. She meets a man that is a former law enforcement officer from Chicago. He is raising his daughter alone after losing his wife. The story of their developing romance and eventual marriages weaved through the story of Jennifer becoming the first female sheriff in Georgia, the capture of infamous bootleggers, and even the disappearance of judges that worked with the big city gangsters. This story was no doubt repeated many times in the time of prohibition. Jennifer’s trust in God is also woven through the story.

Recommendation: This book accurately reflects the prohibition times and the great depression. Those who enjoy historical fiction will enjoy this story.

Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller. A Love Woven True. Bethany House. 2005.

Slavery was the pattern for the Southern cotton plantations in the prior to the Civil War. A Love Woven True is the story of one plantation owner’s daughter who did not agree with slavery. She went so far as to free slaves on her father’s plantation. The story reflects the practices of the day – including people who got paid for tracking down slaves that escaped to the north and returning them to the southern plantation owners.
A Love Woven True, Jasmine has promised to take care of the son of two Negro friends when his father returns to the south to find his wife after she was kidnapped and probably returned to the south to be sold back into slavery.

The authors were realistic in their story. They even showed how the church was willing to be involved in the abolishment of slavery but still showed their prejudice when a white woman was being called “Mama” by a black child. Unfortunately, this prejudice is still obvious in churches today when mixed racial couples appear in the congregation.

Recommendation: This is another historical novel featuring historic Lowell, Massachusetts. Those enjoying novels from this time period will find it delightful. Others may be confronted with the realities of the time period preceding the Civil War.