"Sweet Yet Realistic Romance Set in Time of Historical Change"
Reviewed by Diana Troldahl
Posted June 19, 2014
Women's Fiction | Women's Fiction Historical
FAIR PLAY makes great use of research Deeanne Gist used in
her earlier book, It Happened at the Fair but moves the
focus to social change happening in Chicago (and one can
assume other urban areas in the United States of that time),
giving a realistic, yet not too harsh, look at the time of
the World's Fair in Chicago (1893). The romance this time
centers around a female doctor, Miss Billy Jack Tate and
Texas Ranger Hunter Scott.
Hunter's discovery of a foundling in the World Fair building
he guards leads to the dismaying revelation of dire living
conditions for children in Chicago's slums. Enlisting the
captivating (and frustratingly independent) Miss Tate, he
vows before he returns to his job in Texas he will make a
change for the baby boy and others who live in the
Nineteenth Ward.
I love FAIR PLAY (and Deeanne Gist's earlier It Happened At
the Fair.) The combination of a realistic love story for the
time period and the research into social change adds meat to
what at heart is a sweet romance between two people
struggling to find their place in a world changing around
them. I highly recommend FAIR PLAY.
SUMMARY
From the bestselling author of It Happened at the Fair comes
a historical love story about a lady doctor and a Texas
Ranger who meet at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Saddled with a man’s name, the captivating Billy Jack Tate
makes no apologies for taking on a man’s profession. As a
doctor at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, she is one step
closer to having her very own medical practice—until Hunter
Scott asks her to give it all up to become his wife. Hunter is one of the elite. A Texas Ranger and World’s Fair
guard specifically chosen for his height, physique,
character, and skill. Hailed as the toughest man west of any
place east, he has no patience for big cities and women who
think they belong anywhere but home… Despite their difference of opinion on the role of women,
Hunter and Billy find a growing attraction between them—
until Hunter discovers an abandoned baby in the corner of a
White City exhibit. He and Billy team up to make sure this
foundling isn’t left in the slums of Chicago with only the
flea-riddled, garbage-infested streets for a playground. As
they fight for the underprivileged children in the
Nineteenth Ward, an entire Playground Movement is birthed.
But when the Fair comes to an end, one of them will have to
give up their dream. Will Billy exchange her doctor’s shingle for the
domesticated role of a southern wife, or will Hunter abandon
the wide open spaces of home for a life in the “gray city,”
a woman who insists on being the wage earner, and a group of
ragamuffins who need more than a playground for breathing
space?
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