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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Six orphaned sisters leave a beloved home behind—and find that welcome can bring tears as easily as goodbye.
In Ruth Brown MacArthur’s The Lilac Lady, the Greenfield sisters leave Parker for a new home in Martindale. Peace chatters beside the Judge as his carriage carries them toward the station. Gail keeps a watchful eye on her younger sister, while Hope looks forward to the big house and the people waiting to receive them.
Their neighbors arrange another farewell at the platform, turning a short journey into a generous send-off. Then Martindale’s crowded station leaves the girls bewildered until Doctor and Mrs. Campbell greet them. Between Peace’s missing handkerchief and her eager questions about bedrooms, the story makes belonging feel concrete: someone waits, someone welcomes, and a strange place begins to feel like home.
What you’ll discover
- A lively little sister Peace brings laughter to tender moments with blunt questions and a stream of chatter.
- Kindness at the station Parker’s neighbors find a way to give the departing sisters one more warm goodbye.
- Room for six sisters The Campbells offer more than shelter: their welcome gives the girls a sense of belonging.
- Faith in quiet moments Discover a gentle story where faith shapes hope, forgiveness, and the care people offer.
- Friendship that helps heal Small acts of attention reveal how generosity can enrich both giver and receiver.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy warm family stories, spirited girls with big hearts, small-town school life, songs and poems, and gentle comedy that turns into tenderness.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A home makes room for everyone
- Peace chooses a room that fits
- Love sets limits on adventure
- Generosity needs someone to guide it
- Small kindnesses count without an audience
- A canary leads beyond the hedge
- Friendship makes room for laughter
- Peace brings a frightened boy somewhere safe
- Kindness grows through love and sense
Who’s who
- Peace GreenfieldThe talkative, quick-hearted younger sister who gives away everything she can and wants every lonely person to smile.
- Allee GreenfieldPeace's blue-eyed closest sister, loyal to every plan though she often fears the risk.
- Gail GreenfieldThe eldest sister, responsible and kind, who watches over the family and hopes to write.
- Doctor CampbellThe university president who adopts the six girls and teaches Peace with humor and firmness.
- Mrs. CampbellGrandma, a gentle, white-haired woman who wants the girls to be happy and to learn tact.
- Elizabeth StrongThe minister's wife, called Saint Elspeth by Peace, who gives wise advice and a book for gathering sunbeams.
- The Lilac LadyA young woman who cannot walk and hides behind a hedge, longing for the singing life she lost.
- Giuseppe NicoliA thin Italian boy with a gifted voice who flees a cruel organ grinder and hopes for a safe home.
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The Lilac Lady
by Ruth Brown MacArthur · 1914
A curly-haired girl whistles beside a hedge in Martindale, and a canary answers, and a hidden life begins to open.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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In short
What happens when a girl who cannot stop talking, giving and climbing meets a young woman who has shut herself behind a hedge? That is the heart of The Lilac Lady, a novel by Ruth Brown MacArthur about Peace Greenfield, one of six orphaned sisters adopted together by a university president and his wife.
The Lilac Lady at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 30 min3 h 35 min fast, 5 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 64,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1914by Ruth Brown MacArthur
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Six sisters find a house that welcomes them
Six orphaned sisters leave Parker for Martindale. They are Gail, Faith, Hope, Cherry, Peace and Allee, and the Campbells have taken them all in together. Peace asks more questions on the train than anyone can answer.
At the station, the college president, whom the girls now call Grandpa, has waited an hour and cannot stand still. He hugs them, and the tears they held back finally come as tears of joy. Peace whispers that it feels as if she belongs already.
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Which edition is right for me
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Details
- First published
- 1914
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 5 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
MacArthur, Ruth Brown. The Lilac Lady. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lilac-lady.
MacArthur, R. B. (2026). The lilac lady. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lilac-lady (Original work published 1914)
MacArthur, Ruth Brown. The Lilac Lady. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lilac-lady.
@book{macarthur2026lilac,
author = {MacArthur, Ruth Brown},
title = {The Lilac Lady},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lilac-lady},
note = {First published 1914}
}
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What is The Lilac Lady about?
It follows Peace Greenfield, an orphan adopted with her five sisters, as she brings cheer to a new city. A friendship with a young woman who cannot walk leads to a home for children.
Who is the Lilac Lady?
She is a young woman living in a stone house behind a lilac hedge. After a riding accident, she shut herself away from everyone, until Peace's friendship slowly brings her back to life.
Who is Saint Elspeth in the book?
Saint Elspeth is Peace's nickname for Elizabeth Strong, the minister's wife who looked after her in Parker and later in Martindale. Peace calls the minister Saint John in the same spirit.
The author
Ruth Brown MacArthur
American children's author
Ruth Brown MacArthur wrote warm stories for young readers about the Greenfield sisters, and this book carries on a series that began before its opening chapter. Her pages show a small American city of streetcars, telephones, church societies and children's homes, seen through a cheerful and devout outlook. Few other facts about her life are certain.
More by Ruth Brown MacArthur
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