The City of Fire

Grace Livingston Hill Lutz was an early 20th century Christian Romance novelist. She is credited with having written hundreds of short stories and novels. Her strong female characters were either solid Christian women or women who became Christian during the course of the story. Hill's message was always the same: good verses evil. Set in New York state in the twentieth century, this religious love story has elements of mystery. The City of Fire begins, "Billy Gaston, two miles away and a few degrees up the mountain side, standing on the little station platform at Pleasant View, waiting for the morning train looked down upon the beauty at his feet and felt its loveliness blindly. A passing thrill of wonder and devotion fled through his fourteen-year-old soul as he regarded it idly. Down there was home and all his interests and loyalty. His eyes dwelt affectionately on the pointing spire and bell tower. He loved those bells, and the one who played them, and under their swelling tones had been awakened new thoughts and lofty purposes. He knew they were lofty. He was not yet altogether sure that they were his, but they were there in his mind for him to think about, and there was a strange awesome lure about their contemplation." This book is recommended for high school and adult readers.