The Brights live in the sleepy farm town of Quakertown,
Pennsylvania where they dry and roll tobacco to make cigars.
They are barely making a living. Uncle Fred offers Tom a
chance to become a partner in his funeral home in
Philadelphia. The family is grieving the loss of an infant
son, Henry. Pauline Bright decides the offer would bring
the family a better life and encourages her husband to
accept. The three daughters, Evelyn, 15, Maggie, 12, and
Willa, 6, do not want to leave their school and friends, but
the promise of a brighter tomorrow in a new bustling city
soon have them packing. Philly, here we come!
In Philadelphia, the girls attend new schools and begin to
make friends, even though it is common knowledge that the
Brights live above a funeral parlor. Uncle Fred owns a
lovely, impressive home. Funerals are arranged downstairs
where he has his apartment. The upstairs is for the family
and it is spacious and imposing. Business is thriving and
Tom attends courses on embalming, which in 1918 is the new,
upcoming method used to prepare the corpses for their final
appearance. Pauline is talented with doing makeup and hair
and arranging the flowers in the visitation room. Tom and
Pauline work together as a dedicated team and business
booms. The war is on and all around them men and boys are
being drafted to join in the fight. Tom is called to serve
in the Great War. Pauline and Uncle Fred continue to run the
Bright Funeral Home. The girls are happy there.
While soldiers are fighting on the battlegrounds, at home
people are fighting for their lives.
The Spanish Flu, spread throughout Europe, now in the states
and has hit Philly hard. It attacks the rich and poor, men,
women, children, old and young, it knows no boundaries and
it is the worse epidemic ever known. Pauline and Maggie
volunteer to take food to the poor and sick on South Street.
Maggie is told to wait outside while her mother brings food
to one family, she hears a baby cry and goes to investigate.
She finds the child in a cradle. His mother is dead in her
bed from the flu. A young girl is on the couch
unresponsive. Maggi wraps the small boy who reminds her of
Henry and takes it to her mother. They take him home when
Maggie lies about him being alone in the apartment. When she
is questioned the next day, she repeats her lie and tells
her mother and the authorities she does not remember where
she found him. With so many orphans, it was easy for the
Brights to legally adopt the child and they embraced him and
named him Alexander. Alex becomes the healing balm for
their broken hearts at the loss of Henry. He is a joy!
Susan Meissner is a favorite author of mine and writes
historical fiction that tugs at you heart from the first to
last page. AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN tells a story of love, loss,
family, and, finally, hope. The Spanish Flu killed 50 million
people. 1918 was the time of prohibition, speakeasies,
jazz, and changes. It is a tale of how people viewed life
and loss and clung together looking for a brighter tomorrow.
I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone who is
unaware of the perils of the Spanish Flu. This book has it
all: sadness, tears, death, and, in the end, new beginnings,
love, and family together forever. You will love this book.
Great job, Ms. Meissner. On my top shelf to re-read again.
Thanks.
In 1918, Philadelphia was a city teeming with promise.
Even as its young men went off to fight in the Great War,
there were opportunities for a fresh start on its
cobblestone streets. Into this bustling town, came
Pauline Bright and her husband, filled with hope that
they could now give their three daughters--Evelyn,
Maggie, and Willa--a chance at a better life.
But just months after they arrive, the Spanish Flu
reaches the shores of America. As the pandemic claims
more than twelve thousand victims in their adopted city,
they find their lives left with a world that looks
nothing like the one they knew. But even as they lose
loved ones, they take in a baby orphaned by the disease
who becomes their single source of hope. Amidst the
tragedy and challenges, they learn what they cannot live
without--and what they are willing to do about it.
As Bright as Heaven is the compelling story of a mother
and her daughters who find themselves in a harsh world
not of their making, which will either crush their
resolve to survive or purify it.
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