Amish Beginnings Books In Order

Publication Order of Amish Beginnings Books

“Amish Beginnings” is a series of contemporary romance and Amish fiction by bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher. She first got interested in the Amish when she visited with her Franklin County raised grandfather that lived alongside the community. She also does travel east several times every year to do more research on the Amish, which has cemented her interest. Fisher admits to greatly admiring the plain and simple life of the Amish and asserts that they would be a wonderful example to the world on how to live. Many of her novels have an underlying belief that people can incorporate the principle of simplicity trusting in God, living with less, forgiving more readily, and appreciating nature without necessarily going Amish. When she is not writing, you can find her raising puppies as guide dogs for the blind, playing tennis, and showing off her cute grandchildren to her friends. The Amish fiction author has written several series including the “Stoney Ridge Seasons,” the “County Secrets,” “The Letters,” and “The Calling” series of novels. She has also co-written “The Adventures of Lily Lapp,” an Amish children’s series. She has won several awards for her writing including the Carol Award for “The Search” for which she has also been a finalist with the novels “The Waiting” and “The Choice.” Woods Fisher also writes columns for magazines such as “Cooking & Such” and “Christian Post.” She currently lives in California.

The “Amish Beginnings” series is a set of novels that tell of the establishment of the Amish in the American frontier. It tells of a harrowing journey of people that were discriminated against, who find a new home in the States, where they hope to be free and to make their fortune. The leads of the first two novels of the series are Anna and Bairn. Anna is a wholesome and humble woman who is also very assertive, an attribute that helps her serve her community. She is a woman of faith that never wavers even during the roughest of times when she is persecuted which is what draws Bairn to her. Bairn is an intelligent and strong man and though he is more complex, he could not have been any more tenderhearted towards Anna and the young boy Felix. While Anna has a strong commitment to her faith, Bairn is disillusioned with faith because of past experiences. He is thus more driven by a desire to grow rich which often results in him abandoning what is good for him. The third novel of the series is inspired by a true story enacted by two young faith-filled and determined women. It is set in the tumultuous prerevolutionary Pennsylvania, where Betsy Zook is taken captive and in the brutality of her captivity finds strength from Caleb, who encourages her in her faith. The novels focus on the themes of sacrifice even in the face of harsh conditions, trusting in God’s provision, and putting others ahead of ourselves. The novels assert that human lives are just one thread in a tapestry and even as one might question why bad things are happening, it might be just because they cannot see the whole of it.

“Anna’s Crossing” the first novel of Amish Beginnings series provides a glimpse into the life of the Amish right back to their crossing of the Ocean in a quest to find a new life. It tells the story through the eyes of an irreverent young man and a devout woman, and blends historical fiction and the world of the Amish. It opens to the unpleasant encounter between Anna Konig, a young Amish woman and Bairn the carpenter on the “Charming Nancy” a Scottish ship. Anna had come to the ship to make sure that her loved ones had a safe journey to the New World. Bairn has been making a living on the high seas for years and resents taking the “Peculiars” as the naïve immigrants to the New World were called by sailors. But as the voyage is buffeted by storms, diminishing provisions, illness, and delays, Anna’s serene nature draws in Bairn. Anna also finds it impossible to stay below deck and despite warnings seeks out the aloof ship’s carpenter. Bairn thought that he had lost his faith until Anna is left in a perilous situation through an act of sacrifice. But could the revelation have come too late?

“The Newcomer” the second novel of the series is set in 1737 and begins immediately after the end of the first novel. Anna Konig and her fellow Amish have disembarked from the small ship that had carried them across the sea for two and a half months. They are eager to start a new life in the Pennsylvania frontier, which they find to be raw yet vibrant. They are welcomed by Jacob Bauer the founder of the settlement, bishop and father to Bairn the ship’s carpenter. The Bauer family is happy to be reunited once again, even as Bairn and Anna have an opportunity to let their romance blossom. But the moment does not last long as Bairn is soon resentful of the Amish ways, which he finds rigid with expectations from his domineering father. As such, when some sea captain invited him to cross the ocean he jumps on the chance promising Anna that it will only be one more crossing. But then a man named Henrik Newman joins the church and he is everything that Bairn is not. He is devoted, bold and is serious in seeking her heart. Anna is torn but Newman seems like winning given that he is present while Anna does not know if Bairn will return or not. But what will happen when a secret comes to light?

“The Return” the third novel of the Amish Beginnings series is an inspirational story of Betsy Zook. She is a winsome and beautiful woman that was a devoted Amish that lived according to the expectations of her family. But then she was kidnapped by Indian raiders one night and has to face the hardship and brutality of being a prisoner but also kindness from an unexpected quarter. A Native American woman named Caleb offers her encouragement asking her to find strength in God despite her circumstances. She finds herself torn between the intense new feelings for a compelling man she just met and her pious upbringing. Hans is a complex yet very handsome man who experiences great anguish over Betsy’s captivity that he finds comfort in Tessa Bauer. Tessa responds but in her eagerness to help does not notice than Hans is hungry for revenge. When the Indians finally release Betsy back to her people, there is fear that things may have gone too far between Tessa and Hans.