Enduring? This book has been around since 1956 and is still in print, now that's enduring! I first read Hannah Fowler over twenty years ago and I also "re read" it every couple of years. It is my most favorite work of fiction. An incredibly simple and beautiful work of art, Giles weaves regional lore with a touching love story. Since I first read this book Janice Holt Giles has become my favorite author, she writes with an honesty and wisdom that draws you to her characters. If anyone is remotely interested in Hannah Fowler, please read it, you won't be disappointed. I especially recommend it to teenagers.

I've read most of Janice Holt Giles' books but this one (my first) has got to be my favorite. It certainly isn't your conventional love story; but then, Hannah isn't your conventional heroine. Nor are she and Tice a conventional couple (she asked HIM to marry HER) but they don't seem to be any less happy for it. Giles' beloved Kentucky hills are the perfect setting for the story, and her writing style is wonderful in its simplicity.

By the way, the best subtle reference to sex I've ever found is in this book. When Tice says, "Let's try out that new shuck tick of your'n" and gives Hannah a gentle shove in that direction... and the rest is left to the imagination.

I first read this book over 15 years ago. I have since gone back and read it over about every year or two. The writer has created such real characters and a story line that is just as readable as it was when it was first written. I can not recommend this books strongly enough.

This is on my list of Most Favorite Books Ever! I've looked for SHADY GROVE for years as a gift for people I love, but it's been long out of print. Thank goodness it's again available. The book, which is about the Sudley Fowler family of Broke Neck, Ky, including their relationships--regular and irregular---moonshining, Lonelyhearts letters, government men, picking and grinning, hound dogs, getting "on the draw," and that old time relgion.
Mostly, though, it's about a way of life unique in all the world, and there's a belly laugh on every page.
Oh, gentlemen, you are mortally going to love this one!

I love this book. It is the funniest book that I have ever read. I could just picture them running up on that porch in that old car that was out of control. Every time I get slightly depressed, I re-read this book. I will always have a copy. It's good medicine.

This is the funniest book I have ever read. After reading the first page, I could not put it down. I wanted to know why that preacher wound up with a guitar around his neck. I wanted to know why the television crew was there in Broke Neck. This book is for everyone who enjoys a good laugh. It is just pure fun from the first page to the last.

I grew up in the city, I was very moved by the explanation and discription of the Appalachian mountains, life styles, and cultures. This was a very moving story about excepting and loving other persons and their differences.

"Miss Willie" is a delightful story about a school teacher who moves from a big city to a very small community in the hills of Kentucky. Easy to read, this book kept me spell bound until I finished it. A real treat for readers of all ages

I have read all of the books written by Janice Holt Giles, both the Piny woods series of which this is one and the moving west series many times. I loose myself after the first page or so and am completely immersed until I sadly turn the last page. Her research is fantastic. If she says it rained that day, you can bet it did. I was saddened to hear of Mrs Giles death and wish I could find an author I would enjoy as much.

I began reading this book, against my will, simply to become more familiar with the authors of rural areas. Yet, after skimming the mere first chapter, I became entrapped into the unbelievable writing style of Mrs. Janice Holt Giles. I would recommend this book to anyone - especially to those who do not truly understand what life is like in a rural area. The characters are rich and easily related to, and I was utterly captivated by this realistic and creative tale!!

Years after her death, a book by JHG has been published that is a beautiful love story between two people at a time when divorce was against religious teachings. Yet these characters demonstrate that life is good even though all others seem to be against what would be the only way for them to lead the life they seem destined to live.

I could not put the book down until I had finished. It was too long in coming!

Janice Holt Giles is one of my favorite authors, and her first novel is excellent. Anyone who has ever read "Miss Willie" or "Tara's Healing" will love learning how it all started with Hod and Mary. Her descriptions of the Kentucky mountains and the lifestyle there are concise. I especially enjoy reading about Hod's thoughts and the moral dilemmas he faces as he grows older. This book contains several interesting points for us all to ponder, and the plot moves along nicely. I highly recommend it, as well as any other books by Janice Holt Giles!

This is absolutely one of the finest books about the early pioneering in our country. Giles writes in a low-key manner, but brings vivid pictures to the mind as the reader follows the travels and travails of one of those pioneers as he makes his way through the wilderness of the Appalachian Mountains into the "wilds" of Kentucky and a new life. As a new-comer to Kentucky in my middle twenties, back in 1957, "The Kentuckians" was a great introduction to the strength and character of those earliest developers of this State.

My first meeting with Ms. Giles' novels actually came through her third novel in this particular series: "The Believers", wherein the granddaughter of those first settlers becomes involved with the Shaker Community in Kentucky. THAT was so beautifully written, that I HAD to go back to read about the protagonist's parents ("Hannah Fowler") and then on back to "The Kentuckians". Each book was better than the first!

And each book drew me in so closely to the people and places involved that I felt as though I was right there and each left me hating to leave their presence! If the Kentuckians ever is reprinted in hardback, I'll be the first in line!

This book was truly a great find for myself and my family, this is a wonderfully interesting story of the Old West, the main character in this book is my Great Grandfather, Benjamin Holladay, my parents gave me this book some years ago, and this is the only account of Ben Holladay I can find, my Grandfather took my Dad, when he was only 13 years old out of Rifle, Co. where he was raised and put him to work helping on the freight line, evidently my Grandfather Holladay (Willard Benjamin Holladay) had inherited the freight company (what was left of it) from his father, the last any of us know about my grandfather was that the freight line just kind of died in Sacramento, Ca. and this is where he stayed. They hauled freight to the cowboys on the range and other towns along the way from Rifle, Co. to Sacramento, Ca., my father told me this book was very true according to what his father told him.

I found this book in the attic covered under piles of dust. I did not know what it was about as it did not have a cover or anything telling what the book was about. I decided to give it a try and was immediatly submersed in the world of the 1800's. I could not put the book down after the first page. it took me about 2 days to complete the whole book. The author, Giles, is very descriptive and exciting writer. Usually i do not like to read books set in the 1800's, but this book is excellent. It is about the life of Rebecca Fowler. It starts with her early life chasing the man she loves and evovles as Rebecca does into her life story. It talks of life in the wilderness and then life while she is involved in a Shaker community and life thereafter. This is an excellent book and i cannot wait to read more book written by Giles.

From beginning to end I was drawn into the lives of all the caratures. Being from Kentucky and visiting Shakertown, I was able to use my imagination and see different sides of how they lived. It brought out both the pros and cons to their living. I also liked how a woman in that time was able to be strong and go with her "beliefs".

I have read many of Ms. Giles books and this one is by far my favorite! She truly reached out to me and because of her book I am contemplating converting to Shakerism! She makes the characters come alive, feel their feelings, and even though she shares it from a point of view against Shakers, she lets you form your own opinion. I worked at a Shakertown but nothing was as moving to me as this book!