Grace Livingston Hill Short Stories & Collections

Katherine's YesterdayBefore she became famous as a novelist, Grace Livingston Hill wrote short stories for many publications. Over the years, many of these stories have been collected and published in book form. The earliest of these, "Katherine's Yesterday", was one of the first Grace Livingston Hill books ever published.

In the 1930's, J. B. Lippincott published a series of small Grace Livingston Hill books they called "pamphlets". These short stories were published in addition to Grace's regular novels in both hardback and paperback editions and are very rare. We list them as books in our GLH book lists, since they were produced individually. However, these short stories appear in many of the short story collections published in later years. Since they were published during the Great Depression, we suspect they were meant for readers whose budget was tight. Inside the jacket of one of these treasures (a hardback edition) is the price of the book—50¢.

After Grace's death in 1947, her daughters published a collection entitled, "Miss Lavinia's Call".  Since then, many of those stories and quite a few others have been collected, published, and re-published for eager Grace Livingston Hill readers to enjoy. 


During the 1930's, J.B. Lippincott released a series of small books in addition to Grace's regularly published novels. They were called "Pamphlets" in Lippincott's promotional brochures, but the inside cover of "The Best Birthday" lists the others as "Twelve Short Stories". These little treasures are just 4 3/4 inches wide x 6 1/4 inches tall! Some can be found in hardback with dust jackets and others are simply paper.

 

pamphlets excerpt

Their color varies from edition to edition. Often the paper editions are found without the stiff cover. The jackets for a few are illustrated, while other jackets simply bear their title.

While difficult to locate in their first editions, the stories have been reprinted over the years in various collections for GLH readers to enjoy. Check out The Honeymoon House, The Short Stories of Grace Livingston Hill, or Christian Endeavor Stories to find them.

 

twelve short stories excerpt

 

The 1932 Pamphlets

Beggarman • Her Wedding Garment
The House Across The Hedge • The Story of The Lost Star

Beggarman Her Wedding Garment The House Across The Hedge The Story of The Lost Star

 

The 1935 Pamphlets

The Handmaid of The Lord • Life Out of Death • The Old Guard • The Strange God

The Handmaid of The Lord Life Out of Death The Old Guard The Strange God

 

The 1938 Pamphlets

The Divided Battle • Dwelling • The Lost Message • The Minister's Son

divided battle thumb dwelling thumb lost message thumb ministers son thumb

 

The Best Birthday
(A Christmas Entertainment for Children)
1938

 

best birthday thumb

 

The Best Birthday was a Christmas play written by Grace for the Sunday School she began at Leiper Church in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

From the Foreword: "One Christmas we decided that in place of the usual common-place Christmas tree, and the usual "pieces" recited and sung in honor of Christmas, it would be well to have something that would fix in all our minds the real meaning of Christmas, making plain the prophecies concerning Christ's coming and their fulfillment, and making God's plan of salvation the central thought...It grew as we began to practice it, and as other girls and boys came into it.

...So, for three successive Christmases we have given this story of "The Best Birthday" over again, with the same young actors taking the parts. The actual given names of our young people are used in the text...And we, the young people and I who have been giving it, send greetings and glad Christmas wishes to all who shall care to use it hearafter." —Grace Livingston Hill

 

 

All content © 2019 - Daena M. Creel