The Wild Olive

by Basil King

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284 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1910

About the author

'William Benjamin Basil King was born 26 February, 1859, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He had a stormy childhood and strict religious upbringing, alluded to in his The Conquest of Fear (1921), inspired by his fears of becoming blind. As an adolescent who had already for some years been losing his sight along with having thyroid gland problems, the young King was deemed not fit for work. He spent a lonely and melancholy autumn at Versailles in France, unoccupied and alone with his introspection and agonising over his fears of fate dealing him a bitter blow, a total loss of vision.

In 1881 he graduated from the University of King's College in Nova Scotia and two years later married Esther Foote. 1884 saw him ordained as Anglican priest and he served as the rector of St Luke's Cathedral in Halifax. In 1892 he became the rector of Christ Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts, yet in 1900 was forced to resign as a result of further failing eyesight. He would devote the rest of his life to literature.

A major turning point in King's life came from a teacher who spoke of the ingenuity and adaptability of the life-principle, which had somehow arrived on earth and for eons had continually met adversity and remained undefeated. King realised he was allowing his own wealth of ability to lie fallow. He rose to the challenge but still struggled with the seeming fate of Nature and his own untapped spiritual faith. He needed to heed his own advice: "Be bold-and mighty forces will come to your aid."'
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Reviews

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard about this book by seeing it at an antique store. I started reading it as an ebook, from Google. I was not expecting much from this book, as there’s hardly any information on it (especially here on Goodreads—not even a synopsis). I expected it to be boring and long and dull.

It was not.

I enjoyed this book very much, and I thought it was very good. The story was interesting, the characters well-developed, the ideals presented rather thought provoking, and the morals well grounded.

The overarching point of this story was sacrificial love. It was very nice to read about, and I really enjoyed it. Another main point was “Is it worth being alive if you have to live a lie?” That was very interesting, as well.

The whole middle of this story seems to be going in the wrong direction, before the main character realizes his mistakes, which is usually annoying to read about in a book. But in this one it was handled well and I did not dislike it.

The author reminded me of Harold Bell Wright quite a bit. I also found it to remind me a very tiny bit of L. M. Montgomery...although that may only be because I read the author was born in Prince Edward Island.

I have a great deal more to say about this, which I may add in future. Suffice it to say I liked this book fantastically well and I recommend it tremendously.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable story about a man convicted wrongfully of murder and how he learned to do the right thing with the help of a good woman.

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It may be a romance, but it's one that men and women alike can enjoy.