books like " the waltons "

[ez]

hi all, i was wondering if anyone knew of any books out there that are family stories like " the waltons"? i know of the" little house" books but i was looking for something like the walton family or a farm family with a nice story to it. any help would be great. thanks again

[ncwaltonsfan]

"Spencer's Mountain" and "The Homecoming",both by Earl Hamner, are in book form. Though not "Waltons" related, "Where The Lilies Bloom" is also about a Depression-era family in Appalachia.

[Deleted]

Dont like to say but my own Kay is 'that type' of story, eventually it will cover four books. three done one in progress

[ez]

thanks for the suggestions "ncwaltonsfan" and "kelvin"

[Brenda]

My daughter recently wrote a book that you might like to read. It is called The Year of Plenty. It is about a farm family in eastern Kentucky in 1929-30.



Earl Hamner has read the book and wrote this review:
"Rebecca's book, "The Year of Plenty," is very much in the vein of "Little House on the Prairie" and "Spencer's Mountain" and I applaud her for continuing the series on into World War Two. Artistically it is a success. It was like a trip back in time to be present at all those family gatherings and to be reminded of when white bread was a luxury and of all those wonderful Christmas rituals. One of the things I like so much about the book is it illustrates a time and customs that we seem to have lost. For the most part, people have no manners, families are fractured, and everyone is entitled to do whatever he feels like without any consideration for the next person. Perhaps reading about a time when these practices were not so common will help us recover them."

~Earl Hamner

You can order the book at www.frontiergirlpress.com. It is also available at amazon.com and amazon.co.uk.

Brenda

[ez]

thanks brenda, the book sounds great, i will pick up a copy from amazon. thanks again

[herb]

You might want to try any of the "Miss Read" books. They're all set in a little village in England in the 50s. Several books in total, with overlapping characters, very pastoral.

Or, for something really exotic, try "The Country Doctor" by Honore de Balzac. Balzac was a French writer in the 1800s, who wrote over 100 books, largely to stave off his creditors. Brilliant story in this one, very 'Waltonesque'


Herb

[ez]

thanks herb, i have read some of the "miss read" books and yes they are good books. i never heard of balzac but i will look for "the country doctor". thanks again

[dfnmeows44]

Michelle Margorian has written several books on the life of children in England before, during and after
World War II---the best known are Goodnight,Mr Tom and BACK HOME

[ez]

thanks dfnmeows44, i saw the movie once on pbs called "gooodnight mr. tom" and i will look for the book "back home". thanks again for the info.

[River]

More like the Little House books are the books from Janette Oke. She wrote the Love Comes Softly series. Most libraries carry her books so you don't have to buy them. Here is the link:
www.janetteoke.com/ME2/Sites/dirmod.asp?sid=AAE7FBED480042CCB2A35E0112405950&type=gen&mod=Core+Pages&gid=E79D00BCDD8845C5935E7D1EFCF30285

[herb]

Just thought you might want to try a writer named Greg Clark. He was a Canadian, so his books may he hard to find in the US. A newspaper columnist for almost 50 years, he started in the early 20s, writing for the Toronto Star. He was there at the same time Ernest Hemingway was working there, in fact Hemingway said Clark was the best writer at the Star.
His columns, especially the ones he wrote in the 1930s, would fit right in with the Walton ethos, even though Clark was a city dweller all his life.
By far his best work in my opinion, and likely the easiest to find, if the book "May Your First Love Be Your Last". It;s another collection of his columns, but the title story is still one of the best short stories I've ever read.

Herb

[ez]

thanks river and herb for all the suggestions. i will look for them all.

[herb]

Gosh, ez, A lot of things keep coming to mind over this thread...

You might also want to try for books by Harry J Boyle. Boyle was another Canadian writer who, among other things wrote several books about his childhood growing up on a farm on the Canadian prairies during the 1930s. He even had a Grandpa! I can't remember the titles off hand, except for two "With A Pinch Of Sin", and "Where Did You Go - Out- What Did You Do - Nothing"

Your best bet will be a library, a lot of his books are likely out of print.

Herb

[ez]

thanks again herb you've been a big help and i'll take your list of suggestions with me to my local library and hope i can find a few.