At a glance
A Proper Pursuit
Christian Historical Fiction
A Proper Pursuit
432 pages · First published 2007
When twenty-year-old Violet Hayes learns that her father intends to remarry—and that her supposedly ill mother actually left the family years earlier—she determines to uncover the truth. Using the magnificent 1893 Chicago World's Fair as her excuse, Violet travels to the city to stay with her grandmother and three eccentric great-aunts, each of whom has very different ideas about how a proper young woman should live. As Violet searches for her mother, she encounters everything from fashionable society and eligible bachelors to women's suffrage meetings and the hardships of Chicago's poorest neighborhoods. With four potential suitors complicating her dreams of romance, Violet must decide which voices to trust, what kind of woman she wants to become, and where God is leading her. Brimming with humor, historical detail, family secrets, and heartfelt romance, this uplifting Christian historical novel is ideal for a leisurely afternoon when you're craving a spirited heroine, memorable characters, and a journey of faith and self-discovery.
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Jump to the pours ↓Marvelous Violet Fizz + Sparkling Pear Punch
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No surprises at chapter twelve
Content notes
Parental separation, divorce, and long-standing family deception; domestic violence, including women and children fleeing an abusive husband and an accidental death; urban poverty and hardship among immigrant families; references to prostitution and burlesque theaters; alcohol misuse and gambling; social pressure surrounding marriage, class expectations, and women's independence; brief depictions of animal death.
Alcohol-Free Pour
Marvelous Violet Fizz
Sweet violet syrup and sparkling lemon suit a heroine whose lively imagination and unexpected adventures bring a little extra fizz to proper Victorian society.
What you'll need
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How to mix it
- Fill a highball glass with ice. Add violet syrup and lemon juice, top with soda water, and stir gently.
- Garnish: Lemon twist.
- Glassware: Highball glass.
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Highball glass ↗Cocktail Pour · 21+
Sparkling Pear Punch
For adults of legal drinking age. Please drink responsibly.
Sparkling wine and delicate pear evoke the dazzling elegance of the Chicago World's Fair, where Violet discovers a world of possibilities far beyond the life she imagined.
What you'll need
- 2 oz pear juice ↗
- 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice ↗
- 3 oz brut sparkling wine
Shop the spirits 21+Search Total Wine for Sparkling wine · 21+ ↗
How to mix it
- Pour pear juice and lemon juice into a flute and top slowly with sparkling wine.
- Garnish: Thin pear slice or lemon twist.
- Glassware: Champagne flute.
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