Christy is the story of a 19-year-old, well-to-do woman who is inspired to volunteer to teach in a mission school in a remote hamlet in Appalachia in 1912. Author Catherine Marshall based the novel on her mother's actual experience but changed details.
Christy Huddleston feels like she's left the 20th century when she arrives in Cutter Gap, Tennessee. The few residents, their shabby homes scattered over a wide area, speak in idioms of their Scottish ancestors, hold to centuries-old superstitions, and lose their loved ones to interfamily feuds and medical ignorance. During her year of serving them, however, Christy comes to realize that backwardness isn't the complete picture. The people are tough, loyal, and caring once you're accepted.
Miss Alice, the founder of the school at Cutter Gap, is Christy's mentor and the person to whom she turns when troubled. A Quaker, Miss Alice preaches the message that God cares for them even though their impoverished circumstances would suggest otherwise. Miss Alice is the only character in this "Christian" book who is sure of her faith. The minister and the doctor -- both romantically interested in Christy -- question. Christy herself is on a spiritual quest to figure out the meaning of life. The novel is ultimately about how to live.
A quarter century after the novel was published, it was adapted for television. A 20-episode series aired on CBS from April 1994 to August 1995, propelling the novel back onto the bestseller list.
Home
My reviews
My friends'
reviews