Light changes everything : a novel
(Book)

It's the summer of 1907 and the sun is scorching down on Mary Pearl in the Arizona Territory. Mary Pearl and her sister Esther take their minds off the heat by sneaking banned Jane Austen novels from Aunt Sarah Elliot's lively bookshelf. Whispered read alouds preoccupy their nights, and reveries of getting hitched to their own Mr. Darcy a la Pride and Prejudice swirl through their day dreams. In walks old-fashioned old-money suitor Aubrey Hanna, here to whisk seventeen year old Mary Pearl off her feet with a forbidden kiss and hasty engagement. With the promise of high society outings and a rich estate, Aubrey's lustful courtship quickly creates petty tension among the three generations of Prine women. As autumn approaches all too quickly, Mary Pearl's Wheaton College acceptance counters quick marriage preparations. Days of travel by horse and by train carry her deep into a sophisticated new world of Northern girls' schooling. Seeking friendship but finding foes, Mary Pearl not only learns how to write, read, and draw, but also how to act, dress, and be a woman.

Arizona Territory, summer, 1907. Mary Pearl Prine and her sister Esther take their minds off the heat by sneaking banned Jane Austen novels from Aunt Sarah Elliot's bookshelf. Whispered read-alouds and reveries of getting hitched to their own Mr. Darcy swirl through their day dreams. In walks Aubrey Hanna, who whisks Mary Pearl off her feet with a forbidden kiss and hasty engagement. The lustful courtship quickly creates petty tension among the three generations of Prine women. When Mary Pearl's Wheaton College acceptance counters the marriage preparations, she not only learns how to write, read, and draw, but also how to act, dress, and be a woman. -- adapted from jacket