Elsie’s Womanhood by Martha Finley; The Original Elsie Classics, Book 4; Unabridged MP3 Audio Book; Narrator Marguerite Gavin

It is a time for celebration as Elsie prepares to marry her beloved Edward. Following their wedding, the happy couple honeymoon at Viamede, childhood home of Elsie’s mother in the bayou region of Louisiana. Here Elsie’s faith matures, and she learns to share her belief with others in a meaningful way.

Four children—Elsie, Edward, Violet, and Harold—are born to Elsie and Edward, who experience the joys and heart-aches of parenthood. Meanwhile, the country teeters on the brink of civil war. Mindful of the tragedies unfolding around her, Elsie is touched by the painful divisions brought on by the War between the States and the devastating loss of family and friends that accompanies it.

“There has been almost no character in American juvenile fiction which has attained more widespread interest and affection than ‘Elsie.’”—Ladies Home Journal, 1893

Martha Finley(1828-1909) was born in Chillicothe, Ohio. She lived a quiet life and began writing, it is believed, during the Civil War when she was bedridden with a back ailment. She wrote twenty-eight books in the Elsie Dinsmore series over a period of thirty-eight years. In addition, she wrote more than fifty other short works and pamphlets, primarily for children, but it was the Elsie Dinsmore series whose popularity persevered over the years.

Marguerite Gavin has recorded over three hundred audiobooks in nearly every genre. A nominee for the prestigious Audie Award, she was won both AudioFile Earphones and Publishers Weekly Listen-Up awards. AudioFile magazine says "Marguerite Gavin is an accomplished storyteller . . . with a sonorous voice, rich and full of emotion, she easily delivers wry humor and moves smoothly from accent to accent, recalling multiple characters perfectly." Marguerite divides her time as an actress between the sound studio and classical theater. She lives with her family in the Washington, D.C., area.