Emily Hudson, by Melissa Jones, is a quiet romance occuring during the end of the Civil War. Emily is a young lady, orphaned by consumption, with no alternative but to allow herself to be taken in by wealthy relatives--none of whom seem to think very highly of her. Through correspondence with her dearest friend from school, Emily shows the reader her conscience and her soul. Afraid of developing consumption herself, in love with a man she feels she cannot marry, and beholden to a cousin who has only his own interests at heart, Emily drifts through day after day, her only joy a love of art. When she removes herself to Rome, Italy to finally stand on her own, we see a more self-possessed Emily emerge. It is as she finally comes into her own and attains the love she thought she'd never have, that the beauty in Emily's story appears.

Though forced to hang on until the very end for satisfaction, reading Emily Hudson is a pleasing endeavor. The heroine is likable and it's difficult to hold back from rooting for her to claim herself and walk proudly into a world of her choosing. I liked this book very much and would recommend it for a lazy Sunday afternoon. ( )