4 Teachers Find More Than They Bargained for in Their Contracts

Something Old, Something New by Kathleen L. Maher

New York, 1840s

Her father’s sudden death makes Gilda Jacobs the new schoolmaster, but to teach Christian curriculum she partners with fire-and-brimstone revivalist Joshua Blake, who learns a lesson in love.

Love in Any Language by Susanne Dietze

Kansas, 1870

Mary Clarence teaches English to the children of Swedish immigrants, but when her favorite students’ widowed father, Kristofer Nilsson, is accused of robbery, she’s determined to clear his name.

In Desperate Straits by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Mackinac Island, Michigan, 1894

Desperate for work, Margaret Hadley dresses as a young man to secure a dray driver’s position. When soldiers at the fort threaten her, Mackinac Island’s newest teacher, Jesse Huntington, intervenes.

A Song in the Night by Rita Gerlach

Virginia, 1904

Karin Wiles longs to share the uplifting power of music with children. But when she seeks to improve a poorly run school and include orphans, Nathaniel Archer delivers harsh words of opposition from the school board.