Summary Of Julia's Story By Ruth Elwin Harris

“Julia’s Story,” is a historical fiction novel written by Ruth Elwin Harris. The publishing company responsible for publishing this exquisite novel is named “The Candlewick Press.” They are located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the original copyright date on the book was in 1989. The author of the book, Ruth Elwin Harris, decided to set this book in the early 1900’s. The time span of this story goes from 1910 to 1930. Locations and places where the story takes place have a distinct variety. Some parts take place in France, while others take place in London. The Purcell Sisters, or the Sisters of the Quantock Hills are the four main girls in which the story is focused on. In this particular story, readers see the view of sister Julia Purcell

and how the war has affected her life with everyone she knows and loves.
Julia Purcell is the main character in “Julia’s Story.” She has three sisters; their names are Frances, Gwen, and Sarah.

These girls have had a rough life. In 1910, their mother died and the four girls only have each other for all their weeps and worries. Also, their dad has been dead for years and ever since the death of their mother, life has just not been the same. They were left as orphans and took care of each other, since they were all they had. Then, something gave the Purcell girls a glimmer of hope. They had a guardian, who for the rest of their lives would take care of the girls. His name was Mr. Mackenzie and he was married to Mrs. Mackenzie and they had kids of their own. They have three sons; Gabriel, Geoffrey, and Antony. Also, they had one daughter; her name was Lucy. One child, though, would soon become very important in Julia’s life. His name was Master Geoffrey and he had been away at school ever since the Mackenzie’s started taking care of the Purcell girls, which was in January of 1910. At this time, he was the same age as Julia. They were both 15 years old. As soon as they first met, they wanted to get to know each other better. One of the first things Geoffrey noticed about Julia is that she was very much like her older sister, Frances; except, there was something special about her. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something

there.
Julia’s older sister, Frances, was a painter and wanted to specialize in it as she grew older. Julia was a painter too, but she felt like she was always living in her sister's shadow. She felt that she was not nearly as talented as Frances when it came to painting. Also, she didn’t feel as attractive or confident. Frances always tried to encourage Julia and one night, she told her about a thought she had been having for years. She wanted to apply to the Slade, which is a very famous art school, and attend her years there and become a professional in painting. The problem with this, other than the expense, is that no one would be able to take care of the sisters like Frances did. Even though they have the Mackenzie’s, it just wouldn’t be the same without Frances. Throughout this book, there are many times where Frances comes to Julia and tells her about her problems, and asks for advice.
As the years went by, the start of the Civil War came quickly. It was 1914, and Master Geoffrey got sent to war. Prior to the war, Julia was in Paris. It was always her dream to go there and see the sights and make beautiful art from all the scenery. Back in 1910, she got an amazing opportunity to go there and stay with a friend, but the Mackenzie’s said no because of Frances going to the Slade and because Julia was just 15 years old. Then a few years later, the opportunity arose again, and this time, she got to go and paint amazing scenery and enjoy herself in Paris.
While the war was ongoing, Julia realized that she didn’t want to work on her paintings as much. She felt that she had to do something since the war was going on. As a painter, she didn’t feel important, so she decided to become a nurse. Soon enough, she got a nursing opportunity at a nursing post in France. During all this time, she kept in touch with Master Geoffrey a lot. They always wrote letters to each other and updated each other on their lives. They tried to make time to see each other as often as possible, and soon enough, they fall in love. Then, about a year later, Julia got devastating news that meant she had to return home from her nursing post in France and bury tragic memories. Geoffrey had died in a battle during the war and the news just devastated her. She didn’t know what to do with herself, so she just went home and stopped being a nurse for awhile.
As the years of Julia’s life went on, she was trying to get back to normal and forget about Geoffrey’s death, but it just wasn’t that simple. It was 1918 and Julia’s sisters’ were trying to convince her to get back to her painting. After many days of convincing and badgering, Julia decided to become a teacher at an art school in London. Then, years later, she met a man named David through her sister Frances and fell in love. She married him and they had two beautiful children. There was still one problem though, Julia still always thought about Geoffrey. She still loved him even though he was gone, and towards the end of the book she and David were having fights and were struggling. Eventually, Julia decides to take herself and the children back to her hometown and get away for awhile. Then, David found them and came to terms with himself and realized that he was still in love with Julia more than anything in the world, and soon enough, Julia came to terms with the past and realized that she was still in love with David too.
The character I identify with most is Frances. Throughout this book, readers could infer that Frances was a very hardworking individual. Every time she was painting or doing something with her work, she had a drive that was so strong and so determined that it made it obvious that she is very passionate towards her work. In fact, one of the Mackenzie boys (Gabriel) fell in love with Frances and wanted to marry her. She said no because she wanted to focus on her work and not get married. As a student myself, I notice that I have a strong drive in my work and can relate to turning some things down because of the importance of my work. Overall, I can identify with Frances’ motivation and passion towards her work and painting
If I had to choose one character that I identify with the least, it would probably be Julia. At the part where Geoffrey died, I can understand why she was so upset and I know how it is to lose a loved one, but she dwelled on it more than she needed to. About a year ago, I had a grandfather who died and passed away, and even though I was upset, I still moved on. I knew that my grandfather wanted me to and I knew that he would be happy if I was happy. My grandfather wanted me to live my life the way I want, and not be sad all the time. Throughout this book, I just didn’t understand why Julia was so upset for years and years and years, because she found happiness, but her emotions weren’t showing it. Geoffrey wanted her to be happy no matter what, and luckily, Julia realized that towards the end of the book.
The main theme or moral of this story, is to live life to the fullest. Once Geoffrey was out of Julia’s life, she had a pit of emptiness inside of her. She was sad for many years, but once she met David, she was starting to become happy again, but still thought about Geoffrey all the time. There was one point where Julia thought she couldn’t do it anymore and was going to give up on her new marriage, but then with the support of her family, friends. and David; they told her to live her life to the fullest and they told her that they loved her no matter what. That was the kind of boost that Julia needed and at the end of the book she said, “There can be no miracle solution to my difficulties, and it would take time to break down the barriers that I had grown up with over the years, but I am going to find my happiness and live.” Overall, the message is to live your life happily and do what you want to do, and don’t let anything get you down or stop you.
To sum up, I rate this book four and a half stars. It was a book that provided a very important message, while providing information that was very entertaining. With the entertainment, it made the book enjoyable to read. Another reason why I really enjoyed this book is, even though it’s historical fiction, I learned some things about World War I and I got to learn about the story of a girl who began to tell her story when she was my age. It was really cool to see the life of a 15 year old in the twentieth century. Also, the little love stories that were interwoven within the book made it sweet and meaningful. Overall, this book has a mix of events that make it enjoyable and fun to read, and I liked it very much.