As Bright as Heaven
From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War comes a novel set during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, telling the story of a family reborn through loss and love.
In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters—Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa—a chance at a better life.
But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without—and what they are willing to do about it.
As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world not of their making, which will either crush their resolve to survive or purify it.
In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise. Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War, there were opportunities for a fresh start on its cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that they could now give their three daughters—Evelyn, Maggie, and Willa—a chance at a better life.
But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city, they find their lives left with a world that looks nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live without—and what they are willing to do about it.
As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world not of their making, which will either crush their resolve to survive or purify it.
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Community Reviews
I enjoyed this book but things were tied up a little too nearly for my taste. A quick enjoyable book none the less.
3.5 stars. This has been on my TBR shelf for awhile and in light of our current pandemic I was very interested to read a historical novel set in the 1918 flu. I really didnât have any knowledge of it so I enjoyed getting a taste of what it would have been like to live through it. The last third of the book were a bit too predictable.
Set during WWI and the Spanish Flu pandemic, involves a family that moves from central PA to Philadelphia. The father gets an opportunity to join his wealthy uncle's mortuary business. The story is told by the mother and 3 daughters. Philadelphia is hit very hard with the number of residents killed by the flu. One daughter finds a baby in a home when they are sent on a errand to deliver supplies to the poor section of the city. The mother is dead but she lies that she was the only person in this home. They raise the baby as their own. We follow Evie, Maggie, and Willa as they grow up during this time of trouble and loss. Many interwoven details that come to light and connect early parts of the story by the ending.
The backdrop of this story was the Spanish Flu of 1918, set in a family of sisters and their parents as they navigate many changes around them. The Brite family inherit an uncle’s funeral home in WW1 Philadelphia, with many deaths coming to their door. And a baby who comes to live them in the turmoil. I stayed up all night reading this fascinating story, highly recommend.
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