"WINDS OF CHANGE," by Jean Holbrook Mathews, Covenant Communications, $16.99, 244 pages (f)
It’s the 1850s, and although the McCune family is among the very few members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in India, they are content with their lifestyle.
Sarah is mistress of a 40-room home and has several servants to help raise the children. Matthew is a sergeant in the East India Company as well as a leader in their tiny LDS branch. Their four children have friends and enjoy luxuries they never would have known in England.
But when Matthew pushes to leave India and venture to the tentative promise of Zion, his family unconvincingly follows his example in “Winds of Change.”
Once in America, the McCunes take on the hardy lifestyle of pioneers and endure the hardships of traveling and homesteading. As romance makes its way into their son Harry’s heart, a family feud ensues, and Sarah wonders if her family will ever be whole again.
Author Jean Holbrook Mathews has taken a well-known LDS pioneering family and made their lives the base for her historical novel. Although much has been written about LDS pioneers, reading how the mid-century English military families lived in India is fascinating and offers a unique view to this part of history.
While the characters of Sarah and Harry seem almost too good to be true, Matthew is very human, sometimes annoyingly so, and adds much to the realism of this novel. At times, “Winds of Change” focuses more on history than fiction. Because of this, there are many historical details that, for fiction lovers, could be viewed as slowing the pace of the book. But for those who revel in historic minutia, this book can be an enjoyable read.
“Winds of Change” has little actual violence and no profanities. Romance is limited to a few chaste kisses.
A Utah native, Mathews has lived extensively in Missouri. She currently resides in Arizona.
Elizabeth Reid thinks the Great Depression is fascinating, so she got bachelor's degrees in both economics and history. A wife and mother, she blogs at agoodreid.blogspot.com.