Books like 'Peace Like a River'
Readers who enjoyed Peace Like a River by Leif Enger also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical action / adventure mystery 20th century historical-fiction literary-fiction coming-of-age family christian religion
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The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsFrom the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Boy In the Striped Pajamas, a sweeping, heartfelt saga about the course of one man's life, beginning and ending in post-war IrelandCyril Avery is not a real Avery -- or at least, that's what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be...Categorized as:
bildungsroman classics coming-of-age drama epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction -
![The Book Thief by Markus Zusak]()
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 63 ratingsLibrarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found hereIt is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family high-school historical-fiction literary-fiction magical-realism -
![Shōgun by James Clavell]()
Shōgun by James Clavell
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsAfter Englishman John Blackthorne is lost at sea, he awakens in a place few Europeans know of and even fewer have seen--Nippon...Categorized as:
classics drama epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality -
![This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger]()
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsIn the summer of 1932, on the banks of Minnesota's Gilead River, the Lincoln Indian Training School is a pitiless place where Native American children, forcibly separated from their parents, are sent to be educated. It is also home to Odie O’Banion, a lively orphan boy whose exploits constantly earn him the superintendent’s wrath...Categorized as:
bildungsroman classics coming-of-age crime drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction -
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![Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate]()
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsMemphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force...Categorized as:
christian coming-of-age crime drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic -
![The Godfather by Mario Puzo]()
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsThe Godfather—the epic tale of crime and betrayal that became a global phenomenon.Almost fifty years ago, a classic was born. A searing portrayal of the Mafia underworld, The Godfather introduced readers to the first family of American crime fiction, the Corleones, and their powerful legacy of tradition, blood, and honor... -
![The Godfather by Mario Puzo, Peter Bart]()
The Godfather by Mario Puzo, Peter Bart
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsThe Godfather—the epic tale of crime and betrayal that became a global phenomenon.Almost fifty years ago, a classic was born. A searing portrayal of the Mafia underworld, The Godfather introduced readers to the first family of American crime fiction, the Corleones, and their powerful legacy of tradition, blood, and honor... -
![The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles]()
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThe bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility and master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction returns with a stylish and propulsive novel set in 1950s AmericaIn June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the work farm where he has just served a year for involuntary manslaughter...Categorized as:
bildungsroman coming-of-age crime drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic -
![Kane & Abel by Jeffrey Archer]()
Kane & Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsBorn on the same day near the turn of the century on opposite sides of the world, both men are brought together by fate and the quest of a dream. These two men -- ambitious, powerful, ruthless -- are locked in a relentless struggle to build an empire, fuelled by their all-consuming hatred... -
![The Physician by Noah Gordon]()
The Physician by Noah Gordon
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsIn the 11th century, Rob Cole left poor, disease-ridden London to make his way across the land, hustling, juggling, peddling cures to the sick—and discovering the mystical ways of healing. It was on his travels that he found his own very real gift for healing—a gift that urged him on to become a doctor...Categorized as:
classics drama epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality -
![The Girl From the Island by Lorna Cook]()
The Girl From the Island by Lorna Cook
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA world at war.One woman will risk everything.Another will uncover her story.1940: When the island of Guernsey is invaded by the Nazis, two sisters are determined to rebel in any way they can. But when forced to take in a German soldier, they are shocked to find a familiar face on their doorstep – a childhood friend who has now become their enemy...Categorized as:
coming-of-age epic family historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure -
![Boy's Life by Robert McCammon]()
Boy's Life by Robert McCammon
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsAn Alabama boy’s innocence is shaken by murder and madness in the 1960s South in this novel by the New York Times–bestselling author of Swan Song. It’s 1964 in idyllic Zephyr, Alabama. People either work for the paper mill up the Tecumseh River, or for the local dairy. It’s a simple life, but it stirs the impressionable imagination of twelve-year-old aspiring writer Cory Mackenson...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age crime drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction magical-realism -
![Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson]()
Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsThe gripping tale about two boys, once as close as brothers, who find themselves on opposite sides of the Holocaust.Elliot Rosenzweig, a respected civic leader and wealthy philanthropist, is attending a fundraiser when he is suddenly accosted and accused of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek, the Butcher of Zamosc...Categorized as:
crime drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century -
![A Name Unknown by Roseanna M. White]()
A Name Unknown by Roseanna M. White
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsEdwardian Romance and History Gains a Twist of Suspense Rosemary Gresham has no family beyond the band of former urchins that helped her survive as a girl in the mean streets of London. Grown now, they concentrate on stealing high-value items and have learned how to blend into upper-class society...Categorized as:
christian crime family historical-fiction industrial-era religion spirituality 20th-century -
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![The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy]()
The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA novel you will never forget... This powerful and breathtaking novel is the story of four cadets who have become bloodbrothers. Together they will encounter the hell of hazing and the rabid, raunchy and dangerously secretive atmosphere of an arrogant and proud military institute. They will experience the violence. The passion. The rage. The friendship. The loyalty. The betrayal...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family high-school historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic -
![The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly]()
The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAnother strong, satisfying novel, full of rich storytelling, by the author of the favourite THE TEA ROSE.An epic tale of secret love and hidden passions. It is 1900 and the dangerous streets of East London are no place for a well-bred woman. But India Selwyn Jones is headstrong: she has trained as one of a new breed, a woman doctor, and is determined to practice where the need is greatest...Categorized as:
crime drama epic family historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction realistic -
![To Treasure an Heiress by Roseanna M. White]()
To Treasure an Heiress by Roseanna M. White
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratings1906Beth Tremayne has always been drawn to adventure. During her childhood, she fed that desire by exploring every inch of the Isles of Scilly. Now, after stumbling across an old collection of letters and a map buried on her family's property, she's found more adventure than she ever anticipated in the hunt for pirate treasure... -
![The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys]()
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsA portrait of love, silence, and secrets under a Spanish dictatorship.Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, Spain is hiding a dark secret. Meanwhile, tourists and foreign businessmen flood into Spain under the welcoming promise of sunshine and wine...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family high-school historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic religion -
![Centennial by James A. Michener]()
Centennial by James A. Michener
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 31 ratings"Michener is America's best writer, and he proves it once again in CENTENNIAL."THE PITTSBURGH PRESSA stunning panorama of the West, CENTENNIAL is an enthralling celebration of our country, brimming with the glory and the greatness of the American past that only bestselling author James Michener could bring to stunning life...Categorized as:
classics drama epic family historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction western -
![A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin]()
A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom acclaimed novelist Mark Helprin, a lush, literary epic about love, beauty, and the world at war.Alessandro Giuliani, the young son of a prosperous Roman lawyer, enjoys an idyllic life full of privilege: he races horses across the country to the sea, he climbs mountains in the Alps, and, while a student of painting at the ancient university in Bologna, he falls in love...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction magical-realism -
![Abigail by Magda Szabó]()
Abigail by Magda Szabó
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAbigail, the story of a headstrong teenager growing up during World War II, is the most beloved of Magda Szabó’s books in her native Hungary. Gina is the only child of a general, a widower who has long been happy to spoil his bright and willful daughter... -
![The Nature of a Lady (The Secrets of the Isles) by Roseanna M. White]()
The Nature of a Lady (The Secrets of the Isles) by Roseanna M. White
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratings1906Lady Elizabeth "Libby" Sinclair, with her love of microscopes and nature, isn't favored in society. She flees to the beautiful Isles of Scilly for the summer and stumbles into the dangerous secrets left behind by her holiday cottage's former occupant, also named Elizabeth, who mysteriously vanished...Categorized as:
christian family historical-fiction industrial-era spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Painted Castle by Kristy Cambron]()
The Painted Castle by Kristy Cambron
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBestselling author Kristy Cambron concludes the Lost Castle novels with this sweeping tale of art and secrets long buried in England. It was supposed to be a one-week job: survey an art find, collect a hefty fee, and use that to settle historian Kiera Foley’s life back into balance... -
![The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman]()
The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsPhilomena meets Orphan Train in this suspenseful, provocative novel filled with love, secrets, and deceit - the story of a young unwed mother who is forcibly separated from her daughter at birth and the lengths to which they go to find each other.In 1950s Quebec, French and English tolerate each other with precarious civility - much like Maggie Hughes’ parents...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic religion spirituality -
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![Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown]()
Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWith a “knack for romantic tension and page-turning suspense, this one is a winner.” The year 1920 comes in with a roar in this rousing and suspenseful New York Times bestselling novel by Sandra Brown. Prohibition is the new law of the land, but murder, mayhem, lust, and greed are already institutions in the Moonshine Capitol of Texas (Booklist, starred review)...Categorized as:
crime family historical-fiction industrial-era western 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Moonraker's Bride by Madeleine Brent]()
Moonraker's Bride by Madeleine Brent
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBorn in a Mission in China, Lucy Waring finds herself with fifteen small children to feed and care for. The way she tackles this task leads to her being thrown into the grim prison of Chengfu, where she meets Nicholas Sabine - a man about to die.He asks her a cryptic riddle, the mystery of which echoes through all that befalls her in the months that follow.. -
![Catching the Wind by Melanie Dobson]()
Catching the Wind by Melanie Dobson
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhat happened to Brigitte Berthold? That question has haunted Daniel Knight since he was thirteen, when he and eleven-year-old Brigitte escaped the Gestapo agents who arrested both their parents. They survived a harrowing journey from Germany to England, only to be separated upon their arrival...Categorized as:
christian drama family historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure -
![Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin]()
Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAlice Grace Ripley lives in a dream world, her nose stuck in a book. But the happily-ever-after life she's planned on suddenly falls apart when her boyfriend breaks up with her, accusing her of living in a world of fiction instead of the real one. To top it off, Alice loses her beloved library job because of cutbacks due to the Great Depression...Categorized as:
christian drama high-school historical-fiction industrial-era religion spirituality western -
![Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens, Kevin Stillwell]()
Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens, Kevin Stillwell
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe summer of 1976 is a turning point for 15-year-old Boady Sanden. He's managed to outrun and outwit the bullying seniors throughout his freshman year at St. Ignatius High; he's working multiple jobs for Wally Schenicker's construction company; and he finally makes a friend his own age--Thomas Elgin, son of the only black family on Boady's side of town...Categorized as:
bildungsroman coming-of-age crime drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic -
![The Dressmaker’s Secret by Lorna Cook]()
The Dressmaker’s Secret by Lorna Cook
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsParis, 1941: As Coco Chanel’s assistant, Adèle lives side by side with German officers in the splendor of The Ritz hotel. But Adèle has a secret. She is working for the resistance, right under the German’s noses...Categorized as:
epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure -
![Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay]()
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsParis, July 1942: Ten-year-old Sarah is brutally arrested with her family in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, the most notorious act of French collaboration with the Nazis. but before the police come to take them, Sarah locks her younger brother, Michel, in their favorite hiding place, a cupboard in the family's apartment. She keeps the key, thinking that she will be back within a few hours...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family high-school historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic -
![Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline]()
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 76 ratingsThe #1 New York Times Bestseller“A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of America’s history. Beautiful...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age drama family high-school historical-fiction literary-fiction realistic -
![The Prince of Spies by Elizabeth Camden]()
The Prince of Spies by Elizabeth Camden
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLuke Delacroix has the reputation of a charming man-about-town in Gilded Age Washington, D.C. In reality, he is secretly carrying out an ambitious agenda in Congress. His current mission is to thwart the reelection of Congressman Clyde Magruder, his only real enemy in the world...Categorized as:
christian historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Dances with Wolves by Michael Blake]()
Dances with Wolves by Michael Blake
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsOrdered to hold an abandoned army post, John Dunbar found himself alone, beyond the edge of civilization. Thievery and survival soon forced him into the Indian camp, where he began a dangerous adventure that changed his life forever. Relive the adventure and beauty of the incredible movie, Dances with Wolves...Categorized as:
classics drama epic historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction realistic western -
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![Chesapeake by James A. Michener]()
Chesapeake by James A. Michener
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsOnce again James A. Michener brings history to life with this 400-year saga of America's great bay and its Eastern Shore. Following Edmund Steed and his remarkable family, who parallel the settling and forming of the nation, CHESAPEAKE sweeps readers from the unspoiled world of the Native Americans to the voyages of Captain John Smith, the Revolutionary War, and right up to modern times...Categorized as:
classics drama epic family high-school historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century -
![A Lady Unrivaled by Roseanna M. White]()
A Lady Unrivaled by Roseanna M. White
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhite Is Quickly Becoming the Top Name in Edwardian Romance Lady Ella Myerston can always find a reason to smile--even if it's just in hope that tomorrow will be better than today. All her life everyone has tried to protect her from the realities of the world, but Ella knows very well the danger that has haunted her brother and their friend, and she won't wait for it to strike again...Categorized as:
christian drama family historical-fiction industrial-era spirituality 20th-century action-adventure -
![The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer]()
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsA grand love story and an epic tale of three brothers whose lives are torn apart by war.Paris, 1937. Andras Lévi, a Hungarian Jewish architecture student, arrives from Budapest with a scholarship, a single suitcase, and a mysterious letter he has promised to deliver to C. Morgenstern on the rue de Sévigné...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century -
![Cometh the Hour by Jeffrey Archer]()
Cometh the Hour by Jeffrey Archer
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 28 ratings"Cometh the Hour" opens with the reading of a suicide note, which has devastating consequences for Harry and Emma Clifton, Giles Barrington and Lady Virginia.Giles must decide if he should withdraw from politics and try to rescue Karin, the woman he loves, from behind the Iron Curtain...Categorized as:
crime drama epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure -
![Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute]()
Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA novel tells the story of a man who leads an ordinary, uneventful life, until overnight he becomes the trustee of his 10-year-old niece, and involved in the search for some missing money...Categorized as:
classics crime family historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Planter's Bride by Janet MacLeod Trotter]()
The Planter's Bride by Janet MacLeod Trotter
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratings1922: cousins and best friends, Sophie and Tilly, are looking for love and adventure. Sophie, orphaned at six, when her tea planter parents died suddenly of fever in India, has been brought up by a radical aunt in Edinburgh. Tilly meanwhile has lived a sheltered life in Newcastle... -
![Sackett by Louis L'Amour]()
Sackett by Louis L'Amour
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA drifter by circumstance, William Tell Sackett hungered for a place he couldn’t name but knew he had to find. South of the Tetons, through a keyhole pass, he found it: a lonely yet beautiful valley—with a fortune in gold. Then he found an even greater treasure: Ange Kerry, a courageous and resourceful woman...Categorized as:
classics drama family historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction western 20th-century -
![Vienna Prelude by Bodie Thoene, Brock Thoene]()
Vienna Prelude by Bodie Thoene, Brock Thoene
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsPredating the events of The Zion Chronicles Series, Vienna Prelude opens in pre-World War II Austria. Elisa Lindheim, a violinist with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, is of Jewish heritage but has adopted an Aryan stage name. Thus she is able to travel and play in Germany even though a 1935 law forbade Jewish musicians to do so...Categorized as:
christian classics drama family high-school historical-fiction religion spirituality -
![The Paris Orphan by Natasha Lester]()
The Paris Orphan by Natasha Lester
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom the USA Today bestselling author of The Paris Seamstress comes a World War II novel that spans continents and crosses generations as an American soldier and an enterprising Vogue photographer brave war-torn France to help a lost little girl find the one thing she never had: a family...Categorized as:
drama epic family historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century -
![Up from the Sea by Amanda Dykes]()
Up from the Sea by Amanda Dykes
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDeep in a New England forest, an ancient tree stands at the center of a tale passed down through the generations. So much so, that the residents of Ansel-by-the-Sea, Maine, no longer know what is truth and what is fable. A woman fleeing in the night, rumors of treason, revolution, retribution . . -
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![Sackett's Land by Louis L'Amour, John Curless]()
Sackett's Land by Louis L'Amour, John Curless
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAfter discovering six gold Roman coins buried in the mud of the Devil’s Dyke, Barnabas Sackett enthusiastically invests in goods that he will offer for trade in America. But Sackett has a powerful enemy: Rupert Genester, nephew of an earl, wants him dead. A battlefield promise made to Sackett’s father threatens Genester’s inheritance...Categorized as:
classics epic family historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction western 20th-century -
![The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton]()
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsA lost child: On the eve of the First World War, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship to Australia. A mysterious woman called the Authoress had promised to look after her - but has disappeared without a trace. A terrible secret: On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell Andrews learns a secret that will change her life forever...Categorized as:
classics drama family historical-fiction industrial-era literary-fiction magical-realism realistic -
![True Grit by Charles Portis]()
True Grit by Charles Portis
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsFourteen-year-old Mattie Ross' father was shot and killed. Told through her eyes, True Grit is the story of how she and hard-drinking Marshal Rooster Cogburn set out to find and prosecute his murderer. "An epic and a legend".--Washington Post...Categorized as:
bildungsroman classics coming-of-age crime drama family high-school historical-fiction -
![The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton]()
The Ballad of the White Horse by G.K. Chesterton
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Ballad of the White Horse is one of the last great epic poems in the English language. On the one hand it describes King Alfred's battle against the Danes in 878. On the other hand it is a timeless allegory about the ongoing battle between Christianity and the forces of nihilistic heathenism...Categorized as:
christian classics epic high-school historical-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century -
![The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder]()
The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRobin was always wandering off (her mother's words) to get away from the confusion she felt inside her. It was not until Robin's father found a permanent job at the McCurdy ranch, after three years as a migrant worker, that Robin had a place to wander to... -
![Manalive by G.K. Chesterton]()
Manalive by G.K. Chesterton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPerhaps the most light-hearted of all Chesterton's "serious" works, Manalive pits a group of disillusioned young people against Mr. Innocent Smith, a bubbly, high-spirited gentleman who literally falls into their midst. Later accused of murder and denounced for philandering everywhere he goes, Smith prompts his newfound acquaintances to recognize an important idea in most unexpected ways...Categorized as:
christian classics drama historical-fiction literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century
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