Thorndike large print Candlelight series

From back cover: "MY CHILDREN NEED A MOTHER, BUT I DO NOT NEED A WIFE." Dr. Sarre van Diederik did a lot to restore Alethea's damaged pride when Nick Penrose badly hurt and humiliated her. So a short time later, when he asked her to marry him and go to Holland to live, she accepted. After all, Sarre was a very nice, kind man, and Alethea might actually be happier with him than she would have been with Nick, even though love wasn't part of the deal. But once in Holland, Alethea discovered that happiness and love could blossom when you least expected it.

Two lonely young people join together in saving a life and learning to love. Without friends or family, young Dale Hathaway relied on faith to brighten the lonely boarding house existence that had become her life. Pursued by unwanted lovers, Dale longed for a real home and a man she could love. Then one night an abandoned baby on her doorstep showed the way to a partnership guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Handsome Paige Madison doesn't know what to do. Hes returned from the war and is on his way to building a career with a prominent businessman. But something is wrong, maybe even unscrupulous, about his boss. And the mans headstrong daughter has decided she wants Paige. In the midst of the confusion, he meets the ministers daughter and is drawn to her gentle faith. Loved by two beautiful women, Paige is forced to make the hardest decision of his life.

Davy and Meg have been married fourteen years when Davy commits a brief and meaningless indiscretion while on a business trip. Davy has never seen the woman before and doesn't expect that he'll ever see her again. It is an incident that occurs without importance to Davy. Yet the consequences of those few thoughtless moments soon swell to towering proportions that threaten to bring Davy and Meg's world crashing down upon them...

The Etruscan underworld goddess held the wheat-symbol of life in one hand, and in the other, the sacrificial knife. To Samantha Develin, the ancient figure seemed sinister, and not just because of the chill, enigmatic smile on its bronze lips. The recently discovered statue, Samantha suspected, was connected in some way with her sister's disappearance two months ago. It was in search of her beautiful artist sister that Samantha had flown from New York to Italy. There she took up residence in the centuries-old farmhouse which Althea had been renting for the past several years. Almost immediately, Samantha found that the neighboring people, including an attractive young English archaeologist, seemed anxious for her to leave. What was more, she was sure the Englishman lied when he disclaimed any knowledge of where Althea might be. Then she awakened one night just in time to put out a mysteriously kindled fire that might have destroyed both her and the farmhouse. Someone was determined that she should not find out what had happened to Althea. Although she was tempted to flee back to her Manhattan apartment, Samantha persisted in her search for the reckless, warm-hearted sister she had always adored -- a search that would lead her to strange people and reveal disturbing secrets in Althea's life. Here, set in the lovely Tuscan countryside around Florence, is a dramatic story of love and murder and of a long hidden evil.

Sylvia's impulsive young brother has come home from college with astounding news--news that throws the entire Garland family into confusion: He is married, and to a most unsuitable young woman named Florimel! But Sylvia determines that she will reach out in love to the difficult and selfish young bride. But Florimel has plans of her own--plans to get her hands on her young husband's inheritance. And in the process of carrying out her plans, she stirs up such strife and discord it seems that the Garland family will be torn apart, a fact that leaves Sylvia overcome with despair. And Sylvia's despair only intensifies when the crisis at home seems to leave her no choice but to turn her back on her own chance at love. . . .

When lovely, bewitching Joan Crofton came to Boston, she hoped to find peace and an opportunity to pursue her career as a talented artist. But soon she found herself the focal point of a fierce rivalry between the fascinating and mysterious Craig Lamont and his former friend, Philip Bard -- handsome and dazzlingly charming. All thoughts of peace vanished as Joan struggled to decide which way she should turn -- only to suddenly realize she had fallen in love with a man she should have hated, a man who seemed to think of her only as a stepping stone in his climb toward success!

Fran had been warned about Myles Jaffray. Nothing could stop him from breaking a woman's heart -- not even a wedding ring. But when the art gallery she worked for was robbed and the clues led straight to Fran, the only person she could turn to was the man she despised -- Myles Jaffray...

(From the back cover) Young Katharine Bowman is certain the winter will be long and dreary. Her friends from the summer have all gone back to their homes, she feels deserted and lonely. Then she discovers a gift left for her by one of her friends...a gift that will change her life in astonishing ways! “Katharine’s Yesterday,” like the other short stories in this collection, brings readers a real sens of the past, of days when life seemed simpler, more straightforward. Yet it also shows that struggles with pride, self-centeredness, and temptation are timeless, as real in the past as they are today. Fortunately, the solution to these struggles is equally timeless. Written in Grace Livingston Hill’s inimitable style, these entertaining stories will both challenge and inspire.

Patricia Prentiss is the only child of a man from humble beginnings who made good. Her mother has become a socialite who wants only the best for her daughter, and fights every step of the way having Patricia attend public schools in favor of a snooty school for girls. Mother Prentiss forces friendships with only wealthy companions, of whom arrogant and selfish Thorny Bellingham is the most frequent and irritating. Another friendship develops very slowly and quietly with an intelligent and hard working classmate whose influence leads Patricia to a knowledge of God. After college, Mrs. Prentiss arranges to have Thorny on hand almost constantly, which he is most willing to do as Patricia had grown into a lovely young woman. Thorny pursues Patricia relentlessly, while she still holds on to her faith and the memory of a kind, strong friend from school days. Mrs. Prentiss and Thorny believe that they have a future all planned out for Patricia but God has something else up His sleeve!

Behind the Cloud is (if I remember right) about a girl who visits her brother who is the commander of a fort. She had inadvertantly married a soldier trying to save her brother's marriage. They meet again at the fort under her brother's command. Her brother thinking it was his WIFE who had illegally married the soldier.