Lynn Austin
Candle in the Darkness (2002)
Author: Lynn Austin
Genre: Historical/Christian
Plot Summary:
Caroline Fletcher is the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Richmond, Virginia. Growing up, she thought little of the lives of her father's slaves until her young playmate was taken away and sold when she was twelve. During a stay in Philadelphia in her late-teens, Caroline becomes deeply invested in the abolitionist movement, believing that slavery is contrary to God's will. After the start of the Civil War, three years later, Caroline is torn between her beliefs and the people she loves. She has to determine if she has the strength to act on her convictions and aid the Union cause, thus betraying her Confederate father, cousin, and fiancee.
Geographical Setting: Richmond, Virginia, also Philadelphia
Time Period: 1853-1865
Series: First in Refiner's Fire Trilogy
Appeal Characteristics:
This book's primary appeal rests with its protagonist and her beliefs. Caroline is a strong, moral character, and is the heart of the book. As most of the book is from her first person viewpoint, the reader feels incredibly close to her struggles. While not fast paced, the book picks up urgency as the narrative goes along and is difficult to put down. Through this story, Austin brings to life a crucial period in American history; the reader learns about the time and its people without feeling like they're being lectured. Another major appeal factor is Caroline's faith, and how it relates to the moral quandaries regarding slavery that she has to struggle with.
Read-alikes: If you want to read more of Austin's take on how the Civil War and slavery impacted the lives of women of faith, try the rest of the Refiner's Fire Trilogy which deal with the personal stories of minor characters in Candle in the Darkness (Fire by Night, A Light to My Path). If you want another Civil War tale focusing on a Southern Christian heroine with divided loyalties due to her views on slavery, try Virginia Gaffney's Richmond Chronicles (Under the Southern Moon). A reader interested in exploring the issues of Christianity and slavery in the 19th-Century should like Denise Williamson's Roots of Faith Series (The Dark Sun Rises), which takes place in the pre-war South and follows both a Plantation-owning family and one of their slaves. Readers who enjoyed Caroline's strong, almost familial, relationships with her father's slaves should like Michael R. Phillips's Shenandoah Sisters Saga (Angels Watching Over Me), which details the friendship between a privileged Southern girl and a former slave girl during the Civil War.
Red Flags: Vague references to Civil War violence and injuries.
Fire by Night (2003)
Author: Lynn Austen
Genre: Christian/Historical
Plot Summary:
Two different women are followed in separate storylines which merge in the end. Julia Hoffman is the spoiled daughter of a rich Philadephia family at the beginning of the Civil War. Phoebe Bigelow is a farmer and backwoods woman in southern Virginia. Each goes on a journey of self-descovery which includes a spiritual aspect. When Julia learns that the Reverend Nathanial Greene she loves won't consider her because she is too shallow and vain, she is at first angry. But after serious reflection she realizes that he is right. In an effort to change, Julia decides to become a nurse and help Union soldiers. Nursing is a relatively new profession at this time and only for middle-aged, married women, certainly not for a single young lady of such refined background. Phoebe's brothers all leave home to enlist in the Union army leaving her alone. Since she is six feet tall and homely and a tomboy, she decides to don men's clothes and join the army herself! She enlists and goes to boot camp where she meets Ted, who becomes her best friend. Julia also uses subterfuge to become a nurse, saying that she is married. Even then no one will hire her except Dr. James McGrath who no other nurse will work for because of his rudeness and surliness. Although this doctor doesn't take this refined lady seriously, Julia is determined to keep working no mater how difficult nursing wounded soldiers is. And it is difficult and gory and terrifying for Julia, who comes to rely on God to help her the suffering soldiers. Both in the regular hospital and in field hospitals, Julia's persistance, hard work, and caring finally convince Dr. McGrath of her worth and he proceeds to teach her nursing in depth so that she can assist him more handily. He also starts treating her nicer. After many battles, Phoebe is wounded and is treated by Dr. McGrath who turns her over to Julia's care. Phoebe recovers but is sick of war and doesn't know what to do next. Dr. McGrath offers to teach her nursing and she accepts. Although from different worlds with different life experiences, these Julia and Phoebe become friends. They both are distressed by the horrors of war that they have seen. They are both struggling to use their faith to deal with the devastation and suffering. The men in their lives are also cause for concern. Phoebe's friend Ted is seriously wounded and at death's door, leading Phoebe to realize that she loves him. Howwever, a captured Rebel doctor is attracted to Phoebe. Reverend Greene is proud of the work Julia has done and now wants to marry her. However, now he expects her to give up nursing, marry him and be a wife and mother. Julia doesn't understand how a religious man who loves her could ask her to give up the one thing that is spiritually rewarding -- nursing. Julia is also attracted to Dr. McGrath, who seems to feel the same way, but hesitates to pursue the situation for some reason. Neither woman is certain of her future as the war comes to an end. They depend on their faith to help them cope with their problems.
Geographical Setting: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and Virginia, also various Civil War battlefields in surrounding states.
Time Period: American Civil War (1861-1865)
Series: Second of three in Refiner's Fire series.
Appeal Characteristics:
2004 Christy Award Winner for historical Christian fiction. The vivid descriptons make the reader feel like s/he is in the scenes with the characters. For those who like to follow a character's journey to spirituality and maturity, Julia and Phoebe will provide a rewarding experience. The book contains no real villians which is refreshing. Realistic characters with strengths and weakness fill the book. These people are not perfect. They reflect the times in which they live, especially when it comes to religion and women's roles. The author also explores the limitations placed on women of this time: how difficult it was for single women then to have any other goal in life than husband and children. Also presented are different types of faith, from dogma to liberalism. Although Julia and Phoebe are totally different types of women in completely differently circumstances, the reader develops an empathy with each and really cares about what will happen to them. Curiosity about this outcome keeps the reader engrossed in the story. The reader also wonders and cares about which suitors they will choose. Although the Civil War is the setting of the story and ever present, it is the characters and how they are affected by their experience that moves the story along. Julia and Phoebe's journeys to maturity and the growth of their spirituality are the real stories. War is never glamorized in this novel. There are no brave, heroic soldiers. There is no glorified violence. We see the war through Julia and Phoebe's eyes and feel their reactions of sadness, dismay and love for their fellow Man.
Read-alikes: An obvious place to start would be the other two books in Lynn Austin’s Refiner’s Fire series, Candle in the Darkness and A Light to My Path. Set during the Civil War, Candle in the Darkness deals with a young Southern woman and daughter of a plantation owner, Caroline Fletcher, getting involved in the abolitionist movement. A Light to My Path, which is about Kitty, a house slave, begins just before the Civil War and deals with maintaining faith in God while trying to gain freedom. Another Austin book that has won the Christy North American Historical Fiction Award is Hidden Places. Set during the Great Depression, this romance is about a widowed mother of three children, Eliza Rose Wyatt, who is determined to hold on to the family farm against the advice of family and friends. As Eliza struggles to keep her home for her children, she finds she has become surrounded by a set of unlikely helpers starting with the handsome hobo, her eccentric aunt and a one-eyed dog. This book has a strong female protagonist similar to the one found in Fire by Night, but has a lighter, more humorous tone. In a different view on the Civil War and its aftermath, Michael R. Phillips’ Shenandoah Sister series presents the story of two girls in Shenandoah County, in North Carolina. In the first novel of the series, Angels Watching Over Me, after marauding outlaw Confederate soldiers kill the family of 15 year-old slave Mayme Jukes, she escapes to a nearby plantation where she discovers that only the 15-year-old Katie Clairborne has survived a similar disaster. Together the two girls vow to keep the adults’ deaths a secret until Katie comes of age to claim the property. The rest of the series follows the lives of these two friends as they deal with life during and after the war. This book has a stronger religious message, with Mayme having direct conversations with God, and presents a view of the hardships felt by civilians in the South. Similar to Austin’s A Light to My Path, Sharon Ewell Foster’s Passing by Samaria deals with the struggles of African Americans. Set in the years between the two World Wars, this book follows the life of Alena, a high school girl, whose discovery of lynched schoolmate’s body leads to her displacement from her home in Mississippi to her aunt’s home in Chicago. In Chicago, Alena tries to start her own career and ends up finding a good man to marry. As one of Genreflecting’s Must Read Christian authors, Foster’s novel contains a strong heroine who uses faith and belief in her own abilities in order to adjust to a different world and the promises it holds. Another series about young women coming of age during a time of war is Judith Pella’s Daughters of Fortune series. This series deals with the lives of the three Hayes sisters, Cameron, Blair and Jackie, children of a wealthy newspaper publisher. The first in the series, Written on the Wind, begins in Los Angeles in 1941. Although the US has not yet entered the war, Cameron, who has taken a job as a foreign correspondent for a rival newspaper, she finds herself increasing in dangerous situations as she covers the war in Europe. Teamed with a former colleague and sometime suitor, Johnny Shannon, Cameron discovers she must rely more and more on her faith as she and her partner struggle to get their stories and stay alive. There are subplots for the other sister, but a more complete coverage of their lives is found in the following books. Like Austin’s series, the Hayes sisters are strong, determined women. However, this story, with its darker backdrop, has a lighter, sometime humorous, tone with enough detail to give the reader a sense of life in the 1940’s. For another award-winning title that deals with young women against the backdrop of war, readers can choose The Meeting Place (1999) by Janette Oke. This title tells the story of two girls, one French and one British, who become friends as war between the two sides is about to begin. For readers who like historical romance, a suggestion is A Fragile Design (2003) by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller. It is the story about of two girls who work in the mills during the Industrial Revolution and find love. For readers who enjoy characters who deal with struggles of life in a historical setting, the Spirit of Appalachia series would be a good place to start. The first in the series by Gilbert Morris and Aaron McCarver is Over the Misty Mountains (1997). Daughter of Twin Oaks (2002) by Lauraine Snelling would be a good choice for readers who enjoy reading novels set during the Civil War era. This book is part of the A Secret Refuge series. Encounter the Light (1997) by Donna Fletcher Crow is a good choice for readers who want to read about the growth of characters throughout a novel. Plus this title is not part of a series, for those who would like just one book to tell the story.For those who particularly like a strong female protagonist who seeks her own identity and explores her spirituality during the trials of the Civil War, with a little romance thrown in, the following novels will satisfy. Out of the Whirlwind by Gilbert Morris, Yankee Bride, Rebel Bride by Jane Peart, and Magnolia Dreams by Virginia Gaffney. If the reader is looking for Christian fiction that deals with women breaking boundaries in the medical profession, one suggestion is Stars for a Light by Lynn and Gilbert Morris. This is the first book in the Cheney Duvall, M.D. series. It takes place shortly after the Civil War, but involves a female doctor and has romantic subplots.
Red Flags: Descriptions of battles, scenes of wounded and dying soldiers, hospitals and surgery are very graphic and can be disturbing.
|top|
|
