Mark of the Cross: 13th Century Europe

Mark of the Cross, a stand-alone historical novel by Judith Pella, brings medieval Europe to life through an entertaining story. In 1265, Philip de Tollard is a young bastard son of the Lord Hawken, who has provided Philip with education but never acknowledged the illegitimate son as his own. Philip soon meets Beatrice Marlowe, from an estate near Hawken’s lands, and the two fall in love—but Philip will not bring dishonor upon Beatrice and bring another illegitimate child into the world. Without any land holdings, and a low-class job as a groom, Philip has nothing to offer Beatrice anyway. To make matters worse, Lord Hawken’s legitimate son, Gareth, is especially vindictive and cruel, and does everything in his power to keep Philip away; soon Philip is banished from England and becomes a fugitive fighting for his life in France.

The two antagonists, Gareth and his mother, seem a bit exaggerated and unrealistic, more stereotypical than actual people. Some scenes also tend to depict all wealthy people as bad, completely self-centered and scornful of the poor – much like Philip’s brother Gareth. Such characters assist the basic story line, in which Philip becomes hardened and angry at the world. Yet throughout many providential events, Philip survives and finds friends in unlikely people—and thus he grows and learns to trust others. With the few exceptions just noted, though, most of the characters are well-developed.

As always, Judith Pella brings excellent historical research into the story’s background, this time discussing the English rebellion against King Henry III, including the specific battle when the King and then-Prince Edward turned the tide back to their side. The story continues on to the early years of King Edward I, and through the characters we experience all aspects of medieval life – the court in England and the English lords in the countryside, as well as the peasants and thieves of France, and even the Crusades—including the Saracens and several locations in Palestine.

For a book with evangelical Christian emphasis, a story from 13th century Europe obviously does not fit entirely, and so the Catholicism is downplayed – no mention of the many Catholic saints worshipped, purgatory, or sales of indulgences. Yet the story gives the general background and feel (at least those things today’s readers readily associate with medieval Catholicism), complete with monasteries, priests, and devotion to Mary as Jesus’ mother. Mark of the Cross even gives some background details such as what was required to seek asylum in the Church, and the life of monks.

Yet Mark of the Cross excels even more as an entertaining and uplifting story, with likeable characters in great contrast to the two villains. The action moves quickly enough, with plenty of page-turning suspense, as we come to know and love the characters. Through their many experiences and hardships, both Beatrice and Philip grow, and Philip’s friends prove themselves genuine.

Summer of the Midnight Sun: The Alaskan Quest Begins

Tracie Peterson’s new series “Alaskan Quest” gets off to a good start with the first book, Summer of the Midnight Sun. Set in 1915, in and around Nome, Alaska, the story continues with some of the characters from Peterson’s earlier “Yukon Quest” series. Seventeen years have passed since that series ended, and the Barringer children, Jacob and Leah, are the focus of this new series. Leah has just turned 30, and she and her brother, both still unmarried, live and trade among the natives at Last Chance Creek, a remote village a few days journey from Nome.

The world of 1915 is present, but remote to the people of Alaska, who hear in the news about World War I and the Lusitania, yet are still living as they have for years – a place largely untouched by the technological changes of the early 20th century. Closer to home, Leah struggles with singleness at 30, even as the one man who rejected her love, Jayce Kincaid, returns to Last Chance Creek. Predictably, the two rediscover their love for each other, yet it makes for an entertaining and enjoyable part of the story.

The bigger story involves Helaina Beachman, sent from Washington D.C. to investigate and capture a criminal who goes by the name of Jayce Kincaid. Widowed due to her husband’s violent death, Helaina copes with her problems by her obsession with justice and the law, without room for mercy. She soon finds the Barringers and Jayce, while discovering that the crime facts don’t seem to fit the man she has found, and makes a nuisance of herself while trying to hide her real mission. Yet through her adventures, Helaina is challenged by the Christian message and the idea of mercy.

Summer of the Midnight Sun has an interesting, action-filled plot, along with likeable characters. Fans of Peterson’s earlier “Yukon Quest” series will also enjoy the return of Karen and Adrik Ivankov, now living happily with their children in Sitka, Alaska. The story, which takes place during the warmer months of May through September, also includes many details of life in Alaska, including the types of clothes, food, and the difficulties presented by the weather during the darker part of the year. The main plot lines are all resolved within this first book of “Alaskan Quest,” but with a cliff-hanging ploy sure to entice readers back for the sequel, the ending develops a new plot that leaves the characters in mortal danger. We must wait at least a few months to continue the adventure, but Summer of the Midnight Sun is off to a great series start.

Wings of Morning: 16th Century Scotland

Wings of Morning, by Kathleen Morgan, continues the “These Highland Hills” series set in 16th century Scotland. This story takes place a few years after the first book in the series, Child of the Mist, and introduces a love interest for Niall Campbell’s cousin, Iain Campbell.

17-year-old Regan Drummond has just wedded her boyhood friend, Roddy MacLaren. When he arrives at home drunk, she hides from him; before the night ends, he is shot dead after attempting to steal cattle from the Campbell clan. Soon afterwards, Regan loses her memory while in a storm, and finds herself in the care of the Campbells at Balloch Castle. Throughout the months without memory, and afterwards, Regan experiences love and kindness she has never before known, and builds new friendships with Iain, his mother, and extended family. But her conscience cannot rest until Roddy’s murderer is found and Roddy’s blood avenged; the circumstances point to Iain as one who may have killed Roddy.
Though the story begins with Iain at Balloch Castle, later we meet up with Anne and Niall, at Kilchurn, now happily wed and expecting their first child. It is nice to meet Anne again, as she now befriends the new heroine. Through Anne’s understanding and Iain’s patience and forgiveness, Regan struggles to put away her old, negative thoughts and ways behind her and look to the Lord, and His people, for strength and love.
The historical situation is the hey-day of the Scottish Highlanders, complete with the various clans and political factions. This story also introduces Queen Mary as a minor character and a close friend of Iain Campbell, and makes brief reference to political events then occurring in Mary’s court. Yet the focus is on the local Highlanders, especially Iain and Regan.
After the original conflict and story (Regan’s personal life) seems settled, Wings of Morning continues on a bit, expanding on the issue of Roddy’s murder. Just when the reader feels some closure, that the story is winding down, this new plot extends the story for a few more chapters and suspense. Overall, Wings of Morning is an entertaining story, a good read as its own novel, if not quite up to the superb quality of the previous book (Child of the Mist). The story is still quite good, though, and realistic. Unlike some historical fiction novels; the characters are not all completely trusting and open to the mysterious Regan; this is not a completely “sappy” story of naïve, perfect humans, and it is nice to see that depth of character development. As a sequel, Wings of Morning also showcases some very likeable characters, and further events in the lives of the Campbell family we have come to love from the first book.

The Strength of His Hand: Chronicles of the Kings, #3

Lynn Austin continues her “Chronicles of the Kings” series with The Strength of His Hand, the third in this series. This novel covers Hezekiah’s later years as king, beginning with his serious illness from which he miraculously recovered and was granted another 15 years. Hezekiah’s testing, his pride during a meeting with the Babylonians, and further Assyrian threats also enter this story, crafted around yet another conflict – Hezekiah’s idolatrous wife Hephzibah, and the lack of an heir to Hezekiah’s throne.

Early in the story, Hezekiah confronts the possibility of not having an heir, and considers various scriptures and their meanings. Thus he learns that God’s promise to David – that David would always have a descendant on the throne – does not necessarily mean that Hezekiah must have a son to continue the line. When Hephzibah again urges Hezekiah to take another wife, in hopes of producing an heir, Hezekiah considers again the Jewish law that a king must not have “many” wives and concludes that not having “many” does not mean only one. Soon thereafter, however, Hezekiah takes ill and nearly dies as a result of an accident. As with so much of the story, the author fills in the gaps, providing an exciting story full of tension and betrayal to explain the cause of Hezekiah’s illness referenced in the Bible.

The Strength of His Hand picks up plot threads and characters developed in the previous two books, so that again Hezekiah himself has a rather minor part. Jerusha is back, now as Eliakim’s wife and a mother to several children. The conflict between Eliakim and Shebna continues, along with embellished accounts, based on verses from the book of Isaiah, regarding Shebna’s monument to himself and the subsequent exaltation of Eliakim.

Overall, the story presented is entertaining and dramatic, along with the message of God’s forgiveness and compassion. However, in several aspects the story remains shallow, especially in its poor application of Old Testament scripture. For example, scripture passages from Isaiah about Israel as the barren wife, rejoicing in the many children given her – clearly understood by Biblical scholars as referring to the returning exiles from Babylon almost 200 years later – are completely misinterpreted and applied directly to Hephzibah for her own personal meaning. The characters present to each other not an Old Testament understanding (the historical setting), nor even a New Testament one, but a weak, modern-day “God loves you” theology. The “gospel” presented to Hephzibah -- who has worshipped an idol and vowed to sacrifice her first child to Asherah – is the weak, modern-day evangelical message that she is a child of God and God forgives her, and so she must forgive herself. Nothing is said about repentance, or an understanding of who God is (versus the idols) including His sovereignty and holiness – much less the required sacrifices for sin that were still required of His people under the Mosaic law during this time.

The Trial of Abraham Hunt: An American Christmas Story

The Trial of Abraham Hunt: An American Christmas Story, by Michael A. Davis, combines a lawyer’s style of writing (the courtroom) with a thorough presentation of a slice of history from the American Revolution. Abraham Hunt was a wealthy merchant in Trenton, New Jersey in 1776, and a strong patriot in the early days of the American Revolution. Yet he signed a statement of loyalty to the British in December 1776, and then entertained the British troops occupying Trenton, including giving a Christmas Eve party to the British in the hours while Washington secretly moved his men across the Delaware River. George Washington’s surprise attack the next morning revived the Revolutionary spirit, and Abraham Hunt’s actions played a role as well: he could very easily have warned the British, but did not.
Though nothing ever happened to Hunt after his pledge of loyalty to the British, Davis injects a fictional “trial” to explain to a modern-day audience all the details of events during this part of the Revolution. Davis’ story takes the form of a courtroom drama transcript, in which we read each character’s dialog part. The dialog is well written, though the very use of this style makes the content – conveying the events to 21st century readers -- rather unrealistic. In an actual court trial of the times, the characters would not elaborate in such detail about things that were commonly known to all. Also, at various points in the dialog one side or the other “objects,” and the objection would normally be valid; but since the real purpose is to enlighten modern day readers, of course the characters are allowed to elaborate and explore seemingly non-relevant material.
Though at first the story is hard to get into, the material draws itself out for an interesting and educational reading, complete with photocopies of original (though very hard to read) documents from the time. Not surprisingly, we soon learn that indeed Abraham Hunt’s actions were not traitorous but actually helped the Patriotic cause. (After all, in reality nothing happened to Hunt, and thus his contemporaries at least understood what was really going on even if later historians have not.) Still, the story is interesting, a little-known episode of the American Revolution. The Trial of Abraham Hunt: An American Christmas Story is a nice, brief account (182 pages, including photocopies of original documents) concerning the amazing, Providential events of Christmas 1776.