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Granny Brand: Her Story
Book by Wilson, Dorothy Clarke
222 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
6 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Clarke Wilson
97 books10 followersDorothy Clarke Wilson (May 9, 1904 – March 26, 2003) was an American writer, perhaps best known for her novel Prince of Egypt (1949), which was a primary source for the Cecil B. DeMille film, The Ten Commandments (1956).
Source: Wikipedia
Source: Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 26, 2012
What to say about this book. It is the story of Evelyn (Granny) Brand and her work with the hill people of India. Granny Brand and her husband started a great work of bringing Christ to the lost. They had a hard job of it because of the Caste system of India and the lost people themselves. It took 6-7 years of prayer and work before they even seen a little promise.
I did have a little problem with Granny Brand. Even though she could and would forgive people in India for hurting her or her family, she had NO forgiveness for anyone else. Granny Brand also seemed to forget that there are other mission fields other than India. She would say she was leaving the decision to come back to India to her son or daughter and God, but then would tell preachers or doctors that were talking about the work in India that they WERE going to join her in India and share in the work. I felt she was not looking on it as God's work, but HER work. Granny Brand also was TOO strong willed. She wanted what she wanted, and (to my thinking) not what God may have wanted. Granny Brand also had the failing of thinking that only she could heal/work-with the people (albeit with God's help) and would push people (who also may have had a call from God) away from the work. These are all failings that anyone and I have falling to.
I appreciated that Granny Brand went to tell the lost and kept her face on God, but I found myself having a hard time liking her as a person.
I did have a little problem with Granny Brand. Even though she could and would forgive people in India for hurting her or her family, she had NO forgiveness for anyone else. Granny Brand also seemed to forget that there are other mission fields other than India. She would say she was leaving the decision to come back to India to her son or daughter and God, but then would tell preachers or doctors that were talking about the work in India that they WERE going to join her in India and share in the work. I felt she was not looking on it as God's work, but HER work. Granny Brand also was TOO strong willed. She wanted what she wanted, and (to my thinking) not what God may have wanted. Granny Brand also had the failing of thinking that only she could heal/work-with the people (albeit with God's help) and would push people (who also may have had a call from God) away from the work. These are all failings that anyone and I have falling to.
I appreciated that Granny Brand went to tell the lost and kept her face on God, but I found myself having a hard time liking her as a person.
June 21, 2025
Granny was tenacious, determined, stubborn, and persistent for the Lord (which can be important qualities to have), but also in getting her own way. In ways she was hard to get along with and I found it hard to relate to her or connect to who she was as a person. Perhaps this was in part also the author's doing in emphasizing certain qualities over others, but that is impossible to know. The writing did leave a bit to be desired.
June 25, 2023
Wilson does an incredible job telling the story of Evelyn Brand, a woman who served first with her husband and later as a widow on the desolate, needy mountains of South India. Her zeal and unconditional love for the people she served made me really ponder the weight of the responsibility of missions. I feel the need to have a few good thinks about the implications of this story.
January 18, 2022
Granny Brand thought "less about her own hurts and frustrations and more about how she could help others." This line near the beginning of the book neatly summarizes Brand's life. She experienced pain and loneliness, yet she was so fixed on Christ's purpose for her in caring for the hill people that those never hindered her.
I must offer special praise for the biographer, Dorothy Clarke Wilson, for not shielding the reader from Granny's sometimes abrasive and imperfect character. If anything, those all-to-human flaws only make her love and hard work more impressive and wonderful by contrast. Granny took in orphans, nursed the sick back to health and shared stories about her guru, Jesus, to give her neighbors the opportunity for eternal life.
Granny was bold and persistent, living out the story of the widow and the unjust judge, when it came to seeing to the needs of the Indian hill people to whom she ministered and among whom she lived. She was an artist, painting watercolors of the beautiful scenery surrounding her, yet she had little concern for outward appearances, though often resented being thought of as old.
Evelyn Brand came from godly stock, her mother a descendent of the French Huguenots who endured torture rather than renounce their beliefs. Granny's son was the groundbreaking physician, Paul Brand, who dic so much to further the lives of leprosy patients in India, America and worldwide.
Granny "could not tolerate idleness.... Every day, every hour must be used for something worthwhile." Though almost strongarmed into retirement, she never gave up, working despite continual loss of physical function (including the use of bamboo sticks to help her walk) until her death at age 95.
On earth, the "Christ she proclaimed...was what he had been in fact: an Oriental villager who trekked mountain paths, wore country men's rough clothes, worked with tools and calloused hands, loved children, healed simple people, lived and died for persons exactly like these whom she loved and served."
Granny had her treasure where her heart was, in the work God had given her to do. Her son, Paul, notes, "If we want to add to her treasure it can only be if we can help to forward that work and bring glory to her Lord."
I must offer special praise for the biographer, Dorothy Clarke Wilson, for not shielding the reader from Granny's sometimes abrasive and imperfect character. If anything, those all-to-human flaws only make her love and hard work more impressive and wonderful by contrast. Granny took in orphans, nursed the sick back to health and shared stories about her guru, Jesus, to give her neighbors the opportunity for eternal life.
Granny was bold and persistent, living out the story of the widow and the unjust judge, when it came to seeing to the needs of the Indian hill people to whom she ministered and among whom she lived. She was an artist, painting watercolors of the beautiful scenery surrounding her, yet she had little concern for outward appearances, though often resented being thought of as old.
Evelyn Brand came from godly stock, her mother a descendent of the French Huguenots who endured torture rather than renounce their beliefs. Granny's son was the groundbreaking physician, Paul Brand, who dic so much to further the lives of leprosy patients in India, America and worldwide.
Granny "could not tolerate idleness.... Every day, every hour must be used for something worthwhile." Though almost strongarmed into retirement, she never gave up, working despite continual loss of physical function (including the use of bamboo sticks to help her walk) until her death at age 95.
On earth, the "Christ she proclaimed...was what he had been in fact: an Oriental villager who trekked mountain paths, wore country men's rough clothes, worked with tools and calloused hands, loved children, healed simple people, lived and died for persons exactly like these whom she loved and served."
Granny had her treasure where her heart was, in the work God had given her to do. Her son, Paul, notes, "If we want to add to her treasure it can only be if we can help to forward that work and bring glory to her Lord."
July 5, 2013
Missionary biographies have been one of my favorite categories of reading since I was a little girl. I loved this book with its kind but frank description of Evelyn Brand's life -- her passions, her strength, her trials, her triumphs, and her shortcomings. A well-written story of a life well-lived for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Want to read
May 29, 2009Granny Brand: Her Story by Dorothy Clarke Wilson (1996)
July 24, 2021
An exceptional masterpiece
September 29, 2025
This was a lovely read. Extremely challenging for Christian’s to stop thinking about the material and to truly put into practice what it means to have an eternal perspective! One particular line that struck me was Granny Brands son speaking about what to buy her for her birthday. He says what do you buy a woman who has everything? She didn’t have anything material, what he meant was that her treasures were so in heaven that earthly treasures didn’t excite her at all! How many of us could say the same? In the end he ends up encouraging people around the world to pray for her mission work as the only birthday gift that he thought would please her.
I didn’t give it five stars because I think that the last section of the book is quite slow and repetitive. It feels like the same story over and over again. So could probably be cut down and still have the same impact.
I didn’t give it five stars because I think that the last section of the book is quite slow and repetitive. It feels like the same story over and over again. So could probably be cut down and still have the same impact.
Read
September 1, 2019Great book, great Lady. Inspiring!
May 15, 2023
One thing I have noticed in reading biographies of great women in Church history is that as they were met with their share of trials, they chose to look upward - not inward - and persevere with joy.
I read this biography in my early twenties and Evelyn Brand immediately captured my attention.
Born into a large but close family of eleven children in 1879 London, England, Evelyn Harris was the daughter of a well-to-do merchant, and a loving homemaker. She was saved at an early age and when Evelyn was 30 years old, she sensed a calling to become a missionary. She met a young missionary, Jesse Brand, and from him she learned that the people of India needed to be reached. She listened as he spoke of the Kolli Moloi “Mountains of Death” - a place where malaria had claimed many lives, thus earning its name. Evelyn was a rich, fashionable, city girl, yet she felt compelled to go. Jesse and Evelyn married and together they set their sights on the “Mountains of Death” - five mountain ranges that were untouched by civilization and completely destitute of the Gospel.
Without giving away too many spoilers, I will say that Evelyn reminds me of Caleb in the Bible who said, "Give me this mountain!" (Joshua 14:6-15) She was strong, outspoken, opinionated, and completely devoted to Christ. As she grew older, she continued teaching, aiding the sick, evangelizing, and discipling. Everyone called her “Granny” but she remarked that she felt young and light. When she broke bones, she healed quickly and returned to the mission work. When she was struck with fevers, she carried on. When she was hit on the head with a rock, and lost most of her balance, she went from village to village, walking with bamboo canes, rescuing children, distributing medicine, and telling everyone she came in contact with about Jesus. She was determined to work until her time on earth was done.
Hebrews 13:7 says, "Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith." I always think of that verse when I read a biography, grateful that God has allowed the lives of some of His people to be documented for the encouragement and spiritual growth of the Church. This biography is one of my favorites and one that will definitely build you up in Christ as well.
I read this biography in my early twenties and Evelyn Brand immediately captured my attention.
Born into a large but close family of eleven children in 1879 London, England, Evelyn Harris was the daughter of a well-to-do merchant, and a loving homemaker. She was saved at an early age and when Evelyn was 30 years old, she sensed a calling to become a missionary. She met a young missionary, Jesse Brand, and from him she learned that the people of India needed to be reached. She listened as he spoke of the Kolli Moloi “Mountains of Death” - a place where malaria had claimed many lives, thus earning its name. Evelyn was a rich, fashionable, city girl, yet she felt compelled to go. Jesse and Evelyn married and together they set their sights on the “Mountains of Death” - five mountain ranges that were untouched by civilization and completely destitute of the Gospel.
Without giving away too many spoilers, I will say that Evelyn reminds me of Caleb in the Bible who said, "Give me this mountain!" (Joshua 14:6-15) She was strong, outspoken, opinionated, and completely devoted to Christ. As she grew older, she continued teaching, aiding the sick, evangelizing, and discipling. Everyone called her “Granny” but she remarked that she felt young and light. When she broke bones, she healed quickly and returned to the mission work. When she was struck with fevers, she carried on. When she was hit on the head with a rock, and lost most of her balance, she went from village to village, walking with bamboo canes, rescuing children, distributing medicine, and telling everyone she came in contact with about Jesus. She was determined to work until her time on earth was done.
Hebrews 13:7 says, "Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith." I always think of that verse when I read a biography, grateful that God has allowed the lives of some of His people to be documented for the encouragement and spiritual growth of the Church. This biography is one of my favorites and one that will definitely build you up in Christ as well.
January 4, 2013
I enjoy reading true stories especially about missionaries and their lives. This book gave the truth - she wasn't perfect. But Evelyn was dedicated to the work of the Lord and her humility was a testimony to me. An amazing story of how Evelyn Brand, first with her husband, then alone, ministered to the people of India.
Well worth the read - however, it can be very convicting.
Well worth the read - however, it can be very convicting.
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May 9, 2018It was deep Christian faith and an inflexible will which brought Evelyn Constance Harris, belle of a fashionable London suburb to India at the age of thirty. There she fell in love with missionary Jesse Brand. On their wedding night they went up into the malaria-ridden Mountains of Death, the Eastern Ghats mountains of southern India sharing Jesse's vision of taking the Gospel to the hill people. Jesse died of blackwater fever in 1928, but his dream persisted. With an indomitable spirit, Evelyn Brand determined to bring life, hope and Christianity to to the outcast inhabitants of all five mountain ranges of South India. For five decades, until her death in 1974 at the age of 95, she continued her unique ministry - Nursing, teaching and preaching to the diseased and poverty-stricken people. They were her friends; she was their doraisani, "honored lady".
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