TY  - BOOK
AU  - Langton, Ada
TI  - The art of preserving love
SN  - 148924672X
PY  - 2018///
CY  - Sydney, NSW
PB  - Mira, an imprint of Harlequin
KW  - Courtship
KW  - Fiction
KW  - Veterans
KW  - Foster mothers
KW  - Man-woman relationships
KW  - World War, 1914-1918
KW  - Ballarat (Vic.)
KW  - Australian fiction
KW  - 21st century
KW  - Historical fiction
KW  - Romance fiction
N2  - "An historical saga of undying love and family, the 
       tragedy of war and the power of hope. Ballarat, 1905. The 
       gossips call 19-year-old Edie Cottingham the ̀Too Girl' - 
       too stubborn, too outspoken, and too modern to get a 
       husband. But Edie does not care. She is determined to defy
       them all and find love with Theo Hooley, the gentle church
       organist and veteran of the African Boer war. But just as 
       Theo prepares to ask Edie's father for her hand, their 
       world is turned upside down. Edie's mother is gone and she
       must care for her new baby sister. Gracie is a sickly baby
       with a special smile that enchants everyone who sees it. 
       How can Edie marry and leave the family home now? But Theo
       Hooley is a man who knows how to wait. Every Sunday, Theo 
       walks from his home to woo Edie. Each week Edie refuses 
       him, knowing that he is asking for more than a walk around
       the lake on a Sunday afternoon. Each week Theo resolves 
       anew to wait for her. Slowly the town begins to fall under
       the spell of the romance. Women sigh and men mutter at the
       challenge Theo presents to their relationships. As the 
       children create a growing procession that follows Theo 
       each week, the whole community becomes caught up in his 
       display of devotion, until an unexpected event changes all
       their lives."--Provided by publisher.
ER  -