This edition has a linked "Table of Contents" and has been beautifully formatted (searchable and interlinked) to work on your Amazon e-book reader or iPod e-book reader.The author, Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE (14 May 1853 – 31 August 1931), was a novelist and playwright of the late Victorian and the Edwardian eras.In his time he was exceedingly popular and at the peak of his success his novels outsold those of his contemporaries.Despite his immense popularity during his life, he is now virtually unknown and unremembered.The Christian, his most popular novel, is set in the late nineteenth century. The author sought to depict,"however imperfectly, the types of mind and character, of creed and culture, of social effort and religious purpose which I think I see in the life of England and America.."A wonderful, well-written thrilling and vigorous novel. A must-have for classic romance fans!
Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE (1853-1931), usually known as Hall Caine, was an English author. He is best known as a novelist and playwright of the late Victorian and the Edwardian eras. In his time he was exceedingly popular and at the peak of his success his novels outsold those of his contemporaries. His novels were primarily romantic in nature, involving the love triangle, but they did also address some of the more serious political and social issues of the day. Caine acted as secretary to Dante Gabriel Rossetti and at one time he aspired to become a man of letters. To this end he published a number of serious works but these had little success. A man of striking appearance, he travelled widely and used his travels to provide the settings for some of his novels. He came into contact with, and was influenced by, many of the leading personalities of the day. His best known works include: The Shadow of a Crime (1885), The Bondman (1890), The Scapegoat (1890), The Prodigal Son (1904), The White Prophet (1909) and The Woman Thou Gavest Me (1913).
I read a lot of literature from this era. Sometimes (as with J Meade Falkner) I cannot understand why an author has fallen from favour. And then sometimes I come across someone like Hall Caine, and I cannot see why anyone would have read this trash in the first place. This novel would have disgraced Mills and Boone, and it's four times as long as their efforts. And a lot less plausible. Avoid.
Good story, though a bit long as tales of the period tend to describe everything. Enjoyable for the history and the depiction of relationships. Nice to read a tale which has Christian commitment as a centerpiece.
This is a very long, very over-written, very tiresome book. The two main characters declare their love and commitment to each other and then change their minds almost immediately many times during the course of the narrative. They make foolish and impulsive choices and are in general not sympathetic or believable. The characters are not well-drawn and the plot goes around in circles.
For the first fourth of this book, I thought I'd be giving it five stars. The characters were well-drawn, the plot was shaping nicely, and, above all, there were deep, profound, and rare Christian truths and perspectives embedded in the views of one of the main characters.
The further I read, the less I liked it. Both of the main characters were continually making choices that disappointed me. If one began to make a wise life decision, the other would be making a terrible choice, and this cycle continued right through the end of the book. In that sense, the reader never gets a reprieve. The plot ended up swinging back and forth instead of following a satisfying format.
Still, there are benefits to be derived from the story. It hits a lot of deep, real issues. Real Christianity doesn't fail, but at what a cost.