The Lemon Jelly Cake

This book I could read over and over again. I made me long for the simpler days. Ms Smith painted such a vivid, brilliant picture of small town life way back when horses were considered the mode of transportation and those new horseless contraptions were just a fad that is sure to fade away! This book has plenty of delightful town antics and I couldn't have been more pleased with my purchase! Too bad that she had to pass so soon and couldn't have written more!

Helene and her best friend, Gracie, enjoy the delights of growing up in a small town in Illinois in the early 1900s. Helene's Mother is known throughout the community for her Lemon Jelly Cake, which she regularly makes for church socials and whenever special company comes. When a certain lawyer from another town begins to come to dinner fairly often and the Lemon Jelly Cake becomes his favorite, Helene observes events through the innocent eyes of a carefree child.This is an enchanting -- and sometimes hilarious -- story of small town life in a quieter, gentler age. At the same time the reader is reminded of the ever-so-human urge for excitement and passion in each person's life. Skillfully written, sympathetically observed, the story progresses with an almost fearful inevitability. It's a terrible shame that Madeline Babcock Smith didn't live long enough to write more books like this. Her skills at portraying delightful, enchanting and realistic characters and at executing one story while writing another are awesome.THE LEMON JELLY CAKE is reminiscent of Jan Karon's Mitford series or Clarence Day's LIFE WITH FATHER/MOTHER books. Sunnye Tiedemann (aka Ruth F. Tiedemann)

The Lemon Jelly Cake is a delightful story of small town life in the fictional town of Tory, in central Illinois. The story is told through little Helene, the young and only daughter of the town doctor. Between Helene & her best friend Gracie, the minister's daughter, many funny antics of town scandal & gossip are experienced. Madeline Babcock Smith does an excellent job of painting an adorable recount of life in a small town, where everyone knows everyone's business and the latest scandal consists of who will win the next canned pickle contest. Living life in Tory is compared to the layers of a lemon jelly cake & as the novel unfolds so will some meaningful lessons in life.The Lemon Jelly Cake was Madeline Babcock Smith's first novel, published when she was 65. When the novel was first released, it was received with high acclaim and excerpts were printed in severel popular magazines & newspapers. Popularity of the novel rose, until sadly, the author unexpectedly died of cancer, just four short months after the books publication. However, Madeline Babcock Smith has left behind a shimmering treasure, letting us into the layers of the lemon jelly cake and sharing the jewels that small town life brings. This is a fun, entertaining read & a great book of comfort.

I adored this book it takes you back in time to a place from your grandmothers stories. A simpler place to escape to! You can envision the characters in your mind and they will remind you of someone you know! It reads like the endless summer of your childhood days, where freedom ruled and most anything was possible.

The book is such a fresh faced look on life - it makes one feel they are eleven years old and living the simple (and sometimes, not so simple) life of summer in a small town. Reading this book just calms one down, and makes one appreciate the simple things in life. It's a real gem of a story, with lots of humor associated with an eleven year olds interpretation of some very adult situations. I heartily recommend this book to anyone, and its a Christmas gift to a lot of people I know.