''The Rolling Years'' is the first novel by the American writer

Agnes Sligh Turnbull Agnes Sligh Turnbull (October 14, 1888, New Alexandria, Pennsylvania – January 31, 1982, Livingston, New Jersey) was a bestselling United States, American writer, most noted for her works of historical fiction based in her native Western Penn ...

(1888–1982) and it is set in

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 364,663. The county seat is Greensburg. Formed from, successively, Lancaster, Northumberland, and later Bedford co ...

, just east of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. It is a family chronicle (1852–1910) of three generations of Scottish-American Presbyterians in rural

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...

and their struggles to maintain their strict faith. The first generation is Daniel and Sarah McDowell, a farm couple. Sarah bears 12 children (of whom five survive) to her dour Calvinistic husband; her bitterness about her repeated, difficult confinements is effectively shown. The second generation is about their children, David and Jeannie. David moves to Pittsburgh where he becomes a judge. Jeannie marries a minister who has been serving as the local school teacher to earn money to complete his education. Jeannie's daughter, Constance, represents the third generation. She becomes a school teacher and struggles to find her place in a changing world. The novel dramatizes the gradual weakening of the strict Calvinism of the Scottish immigrants in an increasingly secular society.

References

* * 1936 American novels Novels set in Pennsylvania Family saga novels Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania 1936 debut novels {{1930s-family-novel-stub