TV Thursday // When Calls the Heart

Every Thursday, we will try to bring you a post on a book and its TV show or a movie.   

Today I bring you, When Calls the Heart by Janette Oke and the TV show "When Calls the Heart".

The Book 

This Canadian book tells the story of Elizabeth Thatcher, a young school teacher who goes west to teach in a small, developing town.  Her half brother, who lives out west asks her to come out to teach, and she, wanting to try something new, leaves her home of servants and fancy dresses to live in a home where she must pump her own water, cook her own food, and deal problems like mice. 

The book is similar to the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingles Wilder - it tells the story of a life rather than of one big obstacle the protagonist must face.  I found this book interesting, but not very captivating.  This is the first book in the series of six.  

The Show

I watched the first two seasons of the show before I read the book, and I fell in love with it. 

While Elizabeth Thatcher is the young school teacher in both the book and show, there were more differences than similarities.  

Elizabeth heads west to teach in a town called Coal Valley, arriving just after a disastrous mine accident that killed most of the men in the town.  There she learns to fend for herself, meets a handsome Mountie (Canadian Mounted Police), and tries to fit in among the widows.  

I found the show much more captivating and attention holding than the book and I cannot wait for season 3 to be on Netflix.