Skip to main content

Historical Christian Fiction

Sometimes books tend to blur into one another.  Sometimes they stand out.  I have been trying to figure out where the last book I read falls.  I'm not sure.

The book is titled The Reluctant Duchess by Roseanna M. White.  The story is about a young
woman, Rowena, and the grave predicament she finds herself in.  Trapped by an unwanted suitor and possible pregnancy.  Enter a young gentleman who lives elsewhere.  He becomes trapped circumstantially and accepts the consequences of that trap rather than fighting them.

The writing of this book flows and I didn't see any major issues with the plot.  The dialect that the characters from the Highlands speak made me slow down my reading at times and there wasn't a glossary for the words included in the book.  But, there was an elaborate list of characters in the very beginning--which I didn't find necessary.

The one major key to the character of Brice Myerston, the Duke of Nottingham, that I wasn't on board with was how he "heard from God".  It was clear in the book that no one could question what he heard from God.  I used to know a person like this and it made discussions difficult.  There was no accountability or questioning that person.  Of course, in the book, everything turns out just fine and what he heard from God was exactly what he should have done.

If you enjoy historical fiction set in the early 1900s in Europe, you will probably enjoy this book.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Bethany House Publishing

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Grieved

Why is it that my generation (I belong to Gen X) and generations after us always seem to think that they know more than the generations that have come before us? Why is there such a lack of respect in our generation for our elders? Why do we think that the liturgy of the church and hymns are irrelevant? It is ironic to me that the emergent movement is saying that the seeker sensitive movement is irrelevant. It seems as if it was only a few years ago when it was the seeker sensitive movement that said to the traditional church that it (the traditional church) was irrelevant. I'm reading a book with all of these big words and I want to be honest--I didn't understand a lot of it. I'm not dumb. I understood most of it, but the author was assuming a lot of background knowledge on the part of the reader. Most of the time I learn deep theological concepts and then I have to store them in my "attic" (as Autumn would say) because there isn't enough room in the ...

Missing Pieces

The other day I was discussing a book with my mom and explaining to her my concern about how "blame" is cast upon the child in the story.  My mom commented about how deeply I read and consider what is written. Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard.  Am I questioning too much?  Am I overreacting? Why am I reacting this way? I come back to knowing that God wired me this way.  But, I also reflect on how God has guided my path through the maze of books I've read over the past few years and what I've learned from the books themselves and from reading them.   Recently, I read a book that troubled me.  The book I finished reading was  Guiltless Living  by Ginger Hubbard.  When I began reading it, I found myself puzzled and then disconcerted. And in the end, I cried. But, I cried for a different reason than one might suspect. I'd like to explain. I did not read Ms. Hubbard's previous book “ Don't Make Me Count to Three ”, but I knew from f...

ESV, NIV, or NASB and then there's the ICB, ESV or NIrV...which should we read?

I am so thankful for my friend's question about the ESV vs. NASB and NIV. I couldn't remember the difference so I went to look it up. I knew that John Piper and Tim Keller, both pastors and authors that I deeply respect have switched over to the ESV. All of the churches that we have attended over the past few years PCA or Reformed Baptist have also switched to the ESV. I did find a blog that explained the differences and that helped me ( http://thefoolishgalatian.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/niv-vs-esv-and-why-piper-switched/ ) I knew why I didn't like the KJV--it was written in the days when writers were paid by a patron and that often slanted the translation. The NKJV, from what I understand, is a revision of the KJV that uses more modern language. Most churches I have attended used the NIV until the ESV came out. The blog I found explained that the ESV is a more literal translation---like the NASB. The NASB is a very literal translation. The ESV has come to be consid...