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Stories of the Covenanters in Scotland for young people
This book has been out of print for many years, the characters and their story's portrayed are so strong and moving that it was republished in 2005. Prepare to immerse yourself into the life and death struggles of individuals who refused to submit to tyranny and fought for the right to worship freely.
- GenresChurch HistoryHistory
294 pages
First published January 1, 1859
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March 24, 2017
This book is three stories in one. All take place in Scotland during the same time period, and all are written about the persecution suffered by the Covenanters.
The first story is about a young minister, his wife and two children. They are driven out of their home and forced to wander and beg, living in a cave or being hosted at random in some out of the way cot. They all ultimately die for their faith, and the reader will be sympathetic to their cause. In this story I thought this family was portrayed as quite saintly, perhaps beyond normal.
The second story is about a young man of privilege. His father is a persecutor, but his mother favors the Covenanters. She dies when Ralph is in his early teens. He throws his lot in with the Covenanters, is caught but rescued by his dad. Ralph tries to be like his father and younger brother, but the call of Christ brings him back to the Covenanters. He is again caught but this time has his sentence commuted by an uncle, so Ralph is sent as a slave to the Indies. After some years, the persecution at home is lifted, and he returns where he reunites with his dad & brother.
The last story is about a young girl and her younger brother. Their mother is shot to death returning from a clandestine meeting. The girl, Helen, is a model of faith. Her brother, William, is not. He goes to Glasgow, falls in with an unbelieving crowd, and is influenced by the world. He returns to his sister for a visit, is somewhat shamed by her witness, and tries to change when he returns to Glasgow but is unsuccessful. He hears his sister is dying, rushes to her with a doctor, but she dies, charging him to change his ways. He does.
The book is preachy in spots, sometimes because a preacher is giving a message, sometimes because of extended dialogue between a couple of characters, and sometimes when the author does a "dear reader" aside. The language, although changed from the original by Pollock, is still somewhat archaic for today's young reader, and that is the target audience for this book.
The first story is about a young minister, his wife and two children. They are driven out of their home and forced to wander and beg, living in a cave or being hosted at random in some out of the way cot. They all ultimately die for their faith, and the reader will be sympathetic to their cause. In this story I thought this family was portrayed as quite saintly, perhaps beyond normal.
The second story is about a young man of privilege. His father is a persecutor, but his mother favors the Covenanters. She dies when Ralph is in his early teens. He throws his lot in with the Covenanters, is caught but rescued by his dad. Ralph tries to be like his father and younger brother, but the call of Christ brings him back to the Covenanters. He is again caught but this time has his sentence commuted by an uncle, so Ralph is sent as a slave to the Indies. After some years, the persecution at home is lifted, and he returns where he reunites with his dad & brother.
The last story is about a young girl and her younger brother. Their mother is shot to death returning from a clandestine meeting. The girl, Helen, is a model of faith. Her brother, William, is not. He goes to Glasgow, falls in with an unbelieving crowd, and is influenced by the world. He returns to his sister for a visit, is somewhat shamed by her witness, and tries to change when he returns to Glasgow but is unsuccessful. He hears his sister is dying, rushes to her with a doctor, but she dies, charging him to change his ways. He does.
The book is preachy in spots, sometimes because a preacher is giving a message, sometimes because of extended dialogue between a couple of characters, and sometimes when the author does a "dear reader" aside. The language, although changed from the original by Pollock, is still somewhat archaic for today's young reader, and that is the target audience for this book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review