Excellent novel by a best-selling Quaker author. ( )

Diligence in Love is Daisy Newman’s first Kendal Novel; these novels take place in the imaginary Quaker town of Kendal, Rhode Island and the surrounding area. Although this book was first published in 1951 before the modern feminist movement, a main character is New Yorker Vaughn Hill, a very ambitious woman who is trying to get ahead in an unethical advertising firm, often putting her work ahead of her husband, son, and daughter. Her experience with the company illustrates bad business ethics, particularly dishonesty in advertising, age discrimination in the workplace, and sexual favors. Vaughn and her husband Denis Hill look into their lives and decide to visit a rural Quaker community after Vaughn experiences being with Quakers when researching the Underground Railroad to use in an advertisement.

Quaker life and values are clearly described through the Quakers whom Vaughn and later the rest of her family meet.

I had trouble relating to Vaughn during most of the book. ( )