Out to Canaan (Book 4 of the Mitford Years) - Softcover

Jan Karon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140265686 ISBN 13: 9780140265682

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1998

Synopsis

Get to know the lovable cast of characters that populate the small town of Mitford in this inspirational novel in Jan Karon's #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Millions of readers have come home to Mitford, the little town with the big heart, whose endearing and eccentric residents have become like family members. But now change is coming to the hamlet. Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his wife, Cynthia, are pondering retirement; a brash new mayoral candidate is calling for aggressive development; a suspicious realtor with plans for a health spa is eyeing the beloved house on the hill; and, worst of all, the Sweet Stuff Bakery may be closing. Meanwhile, ordinary people are leading the extraordinary lives that hundreds of thousands of readers have found so inviting and inspiring.

About this title

Review

Mix one part All Creatures Great and Small with two parts Lake Wobegon, sprinkle a little Anne of Green Gables and get: Mitford, the pinnacle of provincial life, where homespun wisdom, guarded tradition, and principled faith are the precepts of good living. Jan Karon, purveyor of so-called "gentle fiction," continues the series that began with At Home in Mitford, in Out to Canaan. The patriarch of the tightly bound community of Mitford, North Carolina, is Father Timothy Kavanaugh, a.k.a. legal counsel, psychologist, foster parent, headhunter, husband, political analyst, and rector of his congregation. He is always there to lend a helping hand, a kind word or bit of advice, which believe it or not, makes for an incredibly busy schedule in this quiet, country town.

Longtime mayor Esther Cunningham, revered for preserving the traditions of the town, finds a formidable foe in Mack Stroupe, a free-spending industrialist who stands for the two most reviled words in Mitford: change and development. If that isn't enough, a suspicious company called "Miami Development" wants to buy Sadie Baxter's home--a Mitford landmark--and turn it into a hoity-toity spa. Father Tim has his hands full again with Dooley, his foster child who is back from prep school for the summer. The good rector continues to doctor Dooley's troubled past by locating his siblings, Poohbaw and Jessie, and finding their alcoholic mother, Pauline, work. The plethora of intricately woven, cozy vignettes makes Out to Canaan a potpie of warm, country reading. --Rebekah Warren

About the Author

Jan Karon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fourteen novels in the Mitford series, featuring Episcopal priest Father Tim Kavanagh. She has authored thirteen other books, including Bathed in Prayer and Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader, and several titles for children. Jan lives in Virginia near the World Heritage site of Jefferson's Monticello.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0140265686
• ISBN 13: 9780140265682
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 342