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    Alice's Tulips
    Alice's Tulips
    Alice's Tulips
    Audiobook9 hours

    Alice's Tulips

    Written by Sandra Dallas

    Narrated by Ali Ahn

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Best-selling author Sandra Dallas has won rave reviews for this tale set during the Civil War. When Alice Bullock's husband joins the Union Army, the young quilting enthusiast is left to deal with an Iowa farm and an imposing mother-in-law. And then her life turns upside down when she's accused of murder. "Alice is a feisty Northern counterpart to Scarlett O'Hara . and her irreverent humor and precise expression will keep readers entertained."-Publishers Weekly
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateDec 4, 2009
    ISBN9781440774218
    Alice's Tulips
    Author

    Sandra Dallas

    SANDRA DALLAS, dubbed “a quintessential American voice” by Jane Smiley in Vogue Magazine, is the author of over a dozen novels, including Little Souls and Where Coyotes Howl, many translated into a dozen languages and optioned for films. Six-time winner of the Willa Award and four-time winner of the Spur Award, Dallas was a Business Week reporter for 35 years, and began writing fiction in 1990. She has two daughters and lives with her husband in Denver and Georgetown, Colorado.

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    Reviews for Alice's Tulips

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      5***** and &#10084Told in epistolary form, we get a glimpse of what it was like, "back home" for the women left behind when their men left for the Civil War. Alice is a young (18 years old) bride living with her mother-in-law to help run the farm when her new husband goes to war. She is new to town, and not everyone likes her (including her mother-in-law, apparently). The story is told in a series of letters Alice writes to her sister Lizzie, covering Dec 1862 - May 1865. As she did in [The Persian Pickle Club], Dallas leaves us wondering "who did it?" In the meantime we see the mistakes of youth and immaturity, and the growth that comes of facing the consequences of our decisions. I've read it twice; the second reading in Oct 2002.
    • 4/5
      It took me a while to get into the writing style - it is where one sister (Alice) writes letters to her sister Lizzie. Some of it is a little forced (reminding her sister as to how many brothers they've got for instance) in order to get the back story in, but it's minor and soon got over.

      The letters are one sided (you never get to read the replies) and tells of two years on a farm with Alice, her mother in law and various waifs and strays, all whilst Charlie is off fighting in the Civil war.

      Alice tries to bear the unwanted attention of a local womaniser, but never contemplated that she would be accused when he turned up dead on their land. There are also diversion in some of the other women in the town (you hear little of the men).

      Once I got past the slightly unusual format, I enjoyed reading this book!
    • 4/5
      Midway through the Civil War, Alice's only talents are quilting and flirting (which puts her one up on Scarlett O'Hara). She's lived for a year with her new husband and his mother on their small farm, having left the more genteel circumstances she grew up in for true love. From all appearances, it is indeed true love, as Alice and Charlie are quite happy together. But he hears the call of patriotism and goes to join the Union Army, leaving Alice with his mother, a woman of very strong opinions, and the hired man to do the heavy lifting on the farm. Still, there's plenty of work to do, and as circumstances only get tougher, Alice soon finds that she has more skills than she thought she did, including loyalty and the ability to work hard. In this book, Sandra Dallas has mastered the art of showing the reader how a character develops, rather than simply saying so. Told in the form of letters Alice writes to her sister, the reader is brought along on Alice's journey.
    • 4/5
      Alice’s Tulips by Sandra Dallas is an epistolary novel set during the American Civil War. Alice is a young bride, who at age 16 is vain, flighty, boastful and ignorant in the ways of the world, but after her husband Charlie leaves to be a soldier, she and her Mother-in-law have the running of the farm to attend to. Over the course of the next few years, Alice gains in maturity but not before her innocent flirting with a Southern sympathizer tarnishes her reputation and causes her some heartbreak.Alice is very skilled with her needle and excels in quilting. As quilting is also an interest of the author, the book is full of information about the history of quilting and where many of the patterns originated. Alice learns to appreciate the friendship of other women and although she always feels that her critical and taciturn mother-in-law doesn’t like her, late in the book she learns that her mother-in-law has seen how Alice has worked and grown and values her greatly.I listened to an audio version of this book and at first I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get through this format as the voice of the reader, Ali Ahn, was very grating but, as the story developed and Alice matured into a strong and independent woman the voice grew with the character and became quite tolerable. This is a warm-hearted story of pioneer women facing tough challenges and I enjoyed it very much.
    • 4/5
      The story of a young bride who returns to her husband's farm when he joins up. She has not lived on a farm and must adapt to farm life and a new mother-in-law who is not very happy. Alice and her mother-in-law have to work the farm together when the hired hand and negro run off. The book tells Alice's hardship and loneliness of life without her husband around. Since she is young and only sees the good in people, she gets herself into trouble on more than one occasion. The real life of women during the Civil War made this an excellent book to read.
    • 4/5
      When her husband enlists as a Union soldier, teenage newlywed Alice Bullock must live on his family's Bramble Farm on the outskirts of Slatyfork, Iowa, with only her stern mother-in-law for company. The story is told through Alice’s letters to her sister over two and a half years, and are filled with accounts of quilting bees, the hardness of farm life, and small town customs. In her long, gossipy letters to Lizzie we experience Alice's life on the run-down farm. As the story unfolds, secrets and mysteries flourish, and Alice shares every joy and sorrow with her sister by letter. The farm is falling apart, there is little food to eat, squatters are living on her property, her horse is dying and she is constantly being scolded. She misses her husband desperately and fears he may never return from the war.

      The letters portray a growing up period for Alice as she changes from a young bride to a woman who has responsibility over the lives of others. Alice likes to have a good time, and admits to be very vain about her sewing and quilting skills. Her only happiness is when she takes up her needle to sew and quilt. This pastime is one of her remedies for those lonely nighttime hours stuck inside the small house. As Alice faces life’s challenges and becomes the main suspect in a local murder she re-examines her relationship with Mother Bullock. Their growing mutual respect forms the core of a novel about the realities of a woman’s life in Civil War era America. The last third of the novel is a subtle balance between sentiment and tragedy and I couldn't put it down.

      This was my first Sandra Dallas novel and I enjoyed it so much. If you have an interest in both historical fiction and quilting you will get even more enjoyment from this book.
    • 4/5
      I have read almost all of Sandra Dallas' novels and often find myself reaching for one on a rainy day or when I am sick and want something easy to read, cozy, and riveting all at the same time. Alice's Tulips, a novel told through a series of letters, is the story of Alice, a young bride left on a farm with her stern mother-in-law when her husband joins the Union Army during the Civil War. Alice is spunky, funny, and quite likable. Through her letters, Dallas captures many of the hardships women faced in the era. Each chapter began with a brief quilting blurb, which tied in with the letters that followed. I am not a quilter, but enjoyed reading the historical tidbits. For the most part, the letters work well as a storytelling device, though some passages don't come across as entirely authentic - for example, when Alice describes her appearance to her sister or recounts an entire conversation verbatim, though as a reader I was glad for the information! I expected a murder mystery from the book's description. There is a murder, but it plays a lesser role in the story than Alice's growth as a woman. I will enthusiastically recommend Alice's Tulips and all of Sandra Dallas' work to quilters and fans of female-centered historical fiction such as that written by Jennifer Chiaverini and Tracy Chevalier.
    • 4/5
      I have to admit that when I first started to read the book, I saw letters and said "oh oh....I'm not going to like this book".But, the more I read, the more I liked it.I love how she ends each letter in a different way.....expressing her state of mind.Overall, I really enjoyed the book.
    • 4/5
      Me living with a sour old woman while Charlie is out having his fun.Young newlywed, Alice Bullock, is deposited at her mother-in-law’s Iowa farm, when Charlie leaves for a Union soldier in the Civil War. Though she is a hard worker, Alice is immature and selfish, her mind dwelling on dancing and other fun pursuits, and how to get around Mother Bullock, such as daily moving the marker in her Testament so Mother will think she’s reading it. This is a story told entirely in letters which Alice writes to her sister, Lizzie. Ms. Dallas wrote Alice’s growing up with a perfect tempo. Through much of the book, I just wanted to throttle the girl, but her comeuppance tempered her, and eventually brought about a satisfying conclusion. Most interesting to me was the portrayal of home life with the absence of men during the war. And, as always with Sandra Dallas, the quilting - each chapter is prefaced with a bit about quilt patterns and quilt making.
    • 4/5
      Intriguing book told in a series a letters between sisters during the Civil War. A good mystery doesn't resolve until the very end. Hope to read more books by this author.
    • 4/5
      Alice Bullock is 18 years old and married to Charlie and living on a farm in Iowa with Charlie's mother while Charlie is off fighting with the Union Army in the Civil War. Alice likes pretty clothes, gossip, and flirting and doesn't much care for hard work. This is really a coming-of-age story. As times get tough, Alice learns how tough she really is and deals maturely with some devastating events. The whole book is written as letters from Alice to her sister Lizzie. Normally, I don't care for that writing style; but in this instance, it was a perfect way of telling this dramatic and heartwarming story.
    • 5/5
      This is one of my favorite type of story--strong woman overcomes adversity. The letter writing shows a lost art.