Thomas Clarkson - The Giant with One Idea

12th May 1789 was the day that William Wilberforce made his first speech in parliament against the slave trade. He spoke for three and a half hours! Today therefore seems a fitting day to post a review of the latest Trailblazer book about Thomas Clarkson the abolitionist who worked closely with Wilberforce.

Thomas Clarkson: The Giant with One Idea 

The campaign to abolish the slave trade was motivated by Christian ideals, its arguments presented in Christian language, and, above all, with committed Christians as its leaders. Of these, William Wilberforce, the great abolitionist MP and the campaign’s leader in Parliament, is the most well known. Yet just as important, though sadly overlooked (especially in Christian writing on abolition), was Thomas Clarkson. As this book details for a younger audience, he drove the campaign and turned it into a pioneering popular movement, gathering evidence, witnesses, supporters and petitions. The reader gains a vivid sense of the difficulties this involved, the many dangers and disappointments along the way, Clarkson’s illness and partial retirement, and the crowning triumph when abolition was finally achieved in 1807. His work continued after this, pressuring the government to force other countries to abolish their slave trades. Clarkson also took part in the campaign against slavery itself, although less focus is afforded to it here, which was successful in 1833. Despite this, what is presented is the picture of a dedicated man, committed to helping the downtrodden and oppressed and motivated in this by his Christian faith. It is written in a slightly fictionalised style to engage children, but will be of benefit to parents and young ones alike for discovering the life and oft forgotten efforts of Thomas Clarkson. It is only to be lamented that there is no full length, modern biography of Clarkson for adult readers.

There are some, though no major, historical inaccuracies in this book, primary among them the attribution of the pamphlet encouraging the boycott of sugar mentioned on p. 97 to the Whig MP Charles James Fox (erroneously referred to as Lord Fox at points). This pamphlet, entitled An Address to the people of Great Britain, was in fact authored by William Fox, a printer who attended James Dore’s Particular Baptist chapel in Maze Pond, London (itself a hotbed of abolitionism, with Dore preaching against the trade in 1788). The date of abolition is also given as the 24th February 1807, the date of the second reading of the Bill in the House of Commons, rather than the 25th March, when the Bill was given Royal Assent. However, these minor errors should not detract from the enjoyment that will be found reading this book. The small section on modern slavery at the end reminds the reader of the continued existence of this most inhuman of institutions, and it is to be hoped that the life and efforts of this most important of figures will inspire us both to look back to the valuable lessons of the original anti-slavery campaign, and apply these to the similar issues faced today.

Matthew Roe

Thomas Clarkson: The Giant with One Idea, by Emily Maurits, published by Christian Focus Publications, £5.99

Out of the Smoke

This is an impressive debut novel! Matthew Wainwright has written a gripping and fast paced story of life on the streets of Victorian London. The streets were crime ridden, dangerous places and we follow the life of Billy, a child chimney sweep who gets caught up in a criminal underworld. Gang warfare is rife and moral degeneracy the norm. Billy develops the thick-skin and pride of a fully initiated gang member and refuses help on more than one occasion from the 'Poor Man's Earl', Lord Shaftesbury. His criminality reaches new depths as he is persuaded to use his chimney climbing abilities for more sinister purposes. It is only when he makes the usually fatal mistake of forgetting his way out of the labyrinth of chimneys, that he is forced to make a life changing choice. With a tantalisingly vague ending we are left to assume that he made the right one.

The book finishes with a helpful factual section giving further details on Victorian London, a brief biography of Lord Shaftesbury and also a timeline of notable historical events that relate to the story.

Aimed at 12yrs+ this is a riveting, well researched and brilliantly written novel based on the work of the Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury.

Out of the Smoke by Matthew Wainwright, published by Wakeman, £7.99

Check out the author on Instagram (Matthew Wainwright) - he publishes fun quizzes and other resources about his book on there.

Summer Reading Club 2020

Our Summer Reading Club launched on June 1st and will run until the end of August.  To join, all you need to do is...

1. Spend over £5 on your first summer order

2. Make sure you are on our mailing list

That's it!

You will then be sent a voucher code that gives you a whopping 25% off new and secondhand books for the rest of the summer.

What's not to like!

Check out all the terms & conditions on our website.

A Holiday Attraction in Yorkshire

Last Saturday I paid another visit to the National Coal Mining Museum (www.ncm.org.uk), which has a splendid visitor centre and attracts a good tourist interest, if the numbers I saw then are anything to go by. However I was disappointed by the paucity of books on sale in the gift shop. The few there looked dry and uninspiring, and it seemed to me that they are missing a great opportunity. Surely there must be many more books on and around the mining industry and its social history for adults and children. And not only non-fiction but quality fiction too. I'm convinced it would add great value to the gift shop.
But it struck me that the NCM's location near Wakefield is only 4 miles away from the bookshop by road - we are on its doorstep, as it were. Hence a visit to the museum could be comfortably combined and enhanced with a visit here on the same day! And to continue the mining theme of the day, amongst our great range of titles, we have a little gem of a book for children called 'Pitfall!'

This is a wonderfully evocative book set in the industrial revolution with a lovely story of disaster and salvation - well told in a modern style. What makes it stand out are the abundant illustrations. The stark black and white artwork perfectly captures the grimness and grime of the times, and of the hard lot of children then. And the imagination is as powerfully stirred also by the depiction of the light of God's grace shining in a dark place.
As you may have gathered by now, I highly recommend it! Especially at £2.95.
So add the NCM + bookshop combination to your list of holiday must-sees when in Yorkshire, and you won't be disappointed.

Author Visit - Douglas Bond

This time last week we were welcoming Douglas Bond to the shop. It was a busy afternoon of book signing, book selling, history talking and cake eating!

 If you weren't able to make it this time, we very much hope there will be another opportunity in years to come... we will let you know! In the meantime, there are plenty of Douglas Bond books to read.  Doug writes gripping historical fiction for both adults and children. But he is not just a fiction writer - he writes solid biographies too, plus a few books on theology and Christian living. He also has a particular interest in hymnology. Take a look at this list of his titles that we stock, many of which we have personally reviewed...

Books by Douglas Bond

Summer Reading Challenge

Our Summer Reading Challenge is back! This year we have aimed to include some books that are as suitable for adults as for children. The challenge runs throughout the summer months and ends in early September. Start whenever you are ready and just click here to check out all the available books and make your first choice. You will get 25% off your first choice, then once you have reviewed it for us you can pick your second book and receive 40% off! Once we have your review of your second book you can pick your third book absolutely FREE!

Keep up to date with us on our social media sites to see how everyone else is getting on with the Challenge, we will be keeping a 'Wall of Fame' in the shop with news and reviews!

Inheritance Publications

If you follow any of our social media pages (go on, you know you want to - see below!), you will have noticed that we recently had a big consignment in from Inheritance Publications. 

Inheritance is a small family publisher in Canada with a focus on Dutch Reformed literature and excellent sound historical fiction for children and adults. We have taken on a lot of new titles, so keep checking the website as it might take us a while to get them all listed. Deborah Alcock, Hesba Stretton, Amy Le Feuvre, Piet Prins, Deborah Meroff and Marjorie Bowen are just some of the authors we have expanded our range of. Many of these are reprints of excellent books long since forgotten. 

The team here at the bookshop (young & old) have started on many of these books (purely so that we can give informed reviews of course 😉), and here is our first recommendation:-

The King's Service by Deborah Alcock.

'If you’ve never read one of Deborah Alcock’s accurate historical novels, this is a great one to start with. It is much shorter than many of her thick tomes, and is full of adventure, romance, plot twists, historical facts and God’s amazing grace worked out in the life of sinners.
The opening scene is set in Scotland during the 1630s, while the 30 years religious war is being waged in Central Europe. Uncle Charlie is ward to his brother’s two children, apparently orphaned after the death of their mother and presumed death of their father. Grief stricken, Hugh Graham had left Scotland and his ‘bairns’ to join the Protestant cause in battle, which was being led by Gustavus Adolphus, the king of Sweden. Nothing had been heard from, or of, Hugh Graham for 8 years.
Restless and easily led, Uncle Charlie is persuaded to go and also join the army of Gustavus Adolphus, now in Germany. The Protestants were gaining ground over the Imperialists ‘the rage of Rome’. The young Hugh of 12 years and Jeanie of 14 years, his nephew and niece, join him in different capacities as he leaves his beloved Scotland behind.
The rest of the story follows each one of them in their diverse providences. The sensitive, faithful and God-fearing Giovanni and her key friendship with Fraulein Gertrud Von Savelburg. Young Hugh, full of life and completely unaware of the ‘intrigues of Rome’ conspiring against him. And Uncle Charlie, who displays bravery and loyalty never attributed to him before, and who is brought to a confidence in the God for whose cause he is fighting.
To say more, especially to divulge some of the unexpected plot twists, would spoil this page-turner for any future reader. A recommended, perfect holiday read.'

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God's Mighty Acts...

I was reading one of these to our youngest at bedtime this evening and remembered that once upon a time I wrote a review of it... so here we are, a repost of that review...  (both books are still available here: God's Mighty Acts... )


It's not often you read a children's book which makes you sit and think, seriously and profitably.  The author of these two books, Starr Meade has a way of writing that makes you do just that. These books are written for the 8-12yr bracket, but they do not shy away from weighty doctrinal issues.  Yet at the same time these issues are written about in a way that this age group can understand.  There's quite a skill in doing this and I think Starr Meade hits the nail on the head. 
The books are written with short chapters (no more than 2 pages) which can be used as daily devotionals and some points for further thought and discussion are given at the end of each chapter.  

God's Mighty Acts in Creation guides the reader through each day of creation with the main aim of showing how God is revealed through the things he has made.  For example, 10 chapters are spent on Day 1 (Light and Water) covering some great gospel truths such as Jesus the light of the world, the Holy Spirit shining light into a sinner's heart, Christ the cleansing fountain of water, and Christ the living water. I have started reading this one with my 7yr old and have found the illustrations used really grabbed him e.g. science experiments, camping trips, and the doctrinal applications have been clear without trying to be too simplistic.

God's Mighty Acts in Salvation looks in detail at the book of Galatians and aims to highlight the main teaching about God's saving work.  Again, the difficult doctrinal issues are not avoided and hard words such as justification or righteousness are not watered down but instead used and explained.

Both are books I would recommend.
Lorna
November 2010

There's a place for historical fiction in your life!

Our historical fiction section is growing.  Not with cheesy romantic novels that have little solid content but books with real history, gripping fiction, and faithful gospel messages. I can't talk about historical fiction without mentioning Douglas Bond - a favourite author in this shop who has written great historical fiction for a variety of age ranges. Deborah Alcock is another well known writer of deeply historical, excellent fiction titles. And there are many more to go at! (Just ask us if you need some advice as to where to start). New to our shelves is author Christina Eastwood who has recently written 'Trasna Na Dtonna: A Tale of Three Cities'. This covers a period of the Reformation in Italy and Ireland through a story of the life and times of Willian Bedell (1570 - 1642). We received a review copy a few months ago and one willing teenager has devoured the book for us and written this review...

Christina Eastwood here weaves an enjoyable, well written story with the very real yet relatively unknown history of the reformation in Venice and Ireland.  The story follows Samuele throughout much of his life, his childhood in Venice in the Servite Monastry, his education in Geneva and then his travels in England and Ireland.  Eastwood links real people and real events with Samuele's story. She develops both these and her fictional characters, making the happiness and grief throughout the book very real and poignant.  I think it is a compelling book, and I would recommend it, mainly to teenagers with an interest in history, but I am sure that any young person would find it enjoyable.
Matthew (age 14)

Trasna Na Dtonna: A Tale of Three Cities by Christina Eastwood, £9.99

The Sweet Taste of Providence

Christine Farenhorst is a master storyteller, always engaging and finding new ways of pressing a message home. This book of 74 short stories from history is no different. Not all the stories are about Christians, some are about obscure and little known places and people but all are thoughtfully told so that the reader is drawn to consider and clearly see God's providential workings.  Each short chapter begins with a scripture passage and ends with well crafted 'Food for thought' questions. These are not trite, repetitive questions but at times real mind benders!
For example, in one chapter where we read about the man whose technical skills developed the techniques that led to the creation of the Gutenberg Press - the printing press that began the mass printing of Bibles. The gentleman himself was not thought to be a Christian, and he died friendless and penniless, but what wonderful good has come from the development of his techniques! In this chapter, one of the 'food for thought' points is... 'We live in an age where technology has advanced much beyond Gutenberg.  How can we be accountable and use this technology to God's glory and honour and to the advance of his kingdom?'.
I think this book really fills a gap in the market for devotionals for teenagers. It could be used as a daily reading or adapted for group discussions, but however it is used it will provoke careful analysis of the situations that face us in our daily lives and will cause the reader to consider our sovereign God who has all times, situations, people and places in his hands for the furtherance of the gospel and his glory.
The Sweet Taste of Providence - 74 Devotional Episodes from History, by Christine Farenhorst, published by Joshua Press.

Summer Reading Challenge

Our annual Summer Reading Challenge is back! This is a great opportunity to encourage your children to read throughout the summer season with discounted books and fun crafts & activities...

Take a look at the books available and get in touch to order your first one at 25% off the full price!

see more details about each book online...
 https://christianbookshopossett.co.uk/167-summer-reading-challenge

If you live locally to us then please join us on our official launch morning... 

Wednesday 26th July, 10:30am

when we will be running children's crafts and activities.

The Small Print: Books must be chosen from the selection above. All books available while stocks last. Age categories are flexible. Reviews must be received before subsequent books are despatched. Normal carriage rates apply.

Challenge finishes on Thursday 31st August.

Big Bible Answers

Who remembers A Catechism for Boys & Girls? This was one of its covers, but I think it is now out of print, (although I am double checking on that - anyone with any info please let me know).  It has been a popular catechism amongst Baptist churches over the years. Interestingly it has been used as the basis for a new series from Christian Focus Publications (although notably the questions on Baptism have been edited out - with permission!). 

 Big Bible Answers is a series that aims to bring doctrine and theology to children.  Using the questions from the catechism, Bible and real-life stories demonstrate each doctrinal truth. Scripture references and 'Talking it over' points are added at the end of each story. For example, we learn about Galileo's astronomical discoveries in considering God the creator, we hear about the prophets of Baal and Elijah in learning about the one true God and Patrick of Ireland is used to teach us about prayer.

This looks like it could be a useful series and I particularly like the foreword:

As parents one of our greatest concerns is the spiritual condition of the hearts of our children...
...What parents need most is a deep realization that salvation is a supernatural work of God through the hearing and application of the Word, not a work of us as parents per se. For this reason, the salvation of our children must not be the goal of parenting but rather our desire given over to the will and purposes of God. What parents need next is to fix their hearts on the goal of faithfulness to God, for the glory of God. The chief end of parenting is to glorify God by doing what He has asked us to do as parents: be faithful to bring to our children His love and care, our changed lives, and above all, His Truth, both taught and practically applied

Not For Crown or Sceptre

We restocked our supplies of Deborah Alcock books over the summer and have just received this really enthusiastic review from a customer of  Not for Crown or Sceptre - A Story of Sweden in the 16th Century...

Despite the incredulity expressed by some about what interest 16^th Century Swedish history could hold, I took this 'new in' Deborah Alcock's 'Not for Crown or Sceptre' on holiday with eager anticipation. Already a firm Alcock fan, I expected this little known part of history to reveal some nuggets! And I was not disappointed! Alcock's usual fine literary style is on display, weaving a page-turning masterpiece around the ''scanty historical notices that have come down to us of the hero Gustaf Ericson Vasa''.

The story begins with King Gustaf Vasa, rousing the Dalesfolk of Sweden to fight for freedom from the tyranny of the Danes, and embracing the creed of the Reformation. Within a chapter Gustaf Vasa's glorious 37 year reign has ended in his death, leaving the crown to the murkier and deceitful characters of his family. Gustaf's brother John deposes Gustaf's eldest son Eric on account of his insanity, and dismisses Eric's young son into a planned but failed obscurity.The child is also named Gustaf and the hardships and struggles of his youth in exile, and ultimately his return to Sweden, form the historical backbone of this book.

King John immediately introduces subtle changes, firstly in his 'Red Book', the contents of which departed from the reformation with the suggestion of prayer for the dead, and encouragement to pray to the saints and virgin Mary. When this new liturgy begins to be insisted upon, divisions appear in the churches of Sweden - and in the families of Sweden too.The story is set with the two Nilson brothers: one a university professor with his head turned by the ''king's Romanising changes in the liturgy'', and the other a simple and adored Pastor of Orsa who could not endorse ''the changes that touched the fundamental doctrines of our Reformed Protestant Faith''. The difference between a head knowledge of religion and a heart communication is highlighted remarkably in these two brothers. Extensive discourse between them is expertly used by Alcock to demonstrate the political and religious struggles with Rome of the time. The reader is led on an intricate journey of both heart-rending and heart-warming proportions as we follow the lives of these two brothers and how they intertwine with the child Gustaf.

World Book Day #WBD2015

Do you have World Book Day vouchers still floating around the house?  Get your £1 World Book Day books here - we have 2 excellent choices, or you can get £1 off any book over £2.99...

To find out more about the books... Ten Boys... Ten Girls

Go for it!

Lorna

Growing up God's Way #EPBooks

Published back in 2013 these 2 books fill what was a huge gap in the market, certainly in our shop. Written by two paediatricians they are down to earth and God-honouring.  They are written with just enough detail for pre-pubescent children including pictures and diagrams, but most importantly, a clear focus on our need to view all things through the lens of the Bible. A brief introduction firstly addresses some of the natural fears of children facing puberty and gently explains why our bodies need to change and develop.  We then learn about the biblical view of marriage and the traditional roles of men and women, physical changes, physical intimacy, emotional changes, going out and preparing for the future. In each book, there is some less detailed information given about the physical changes in the opposite sex.  The books are serious but easy to read, so that they can be read with the child, or left to be read alone.

Highly Recommended!

Growing Up God's Way - for boys, Growing up God's Way - for girls. £7.99 each. Published by EP Books.

Pre-order your Carine Mackenzie signed books...

For all of you out there who aren't going to make it to our author event, don't think that you are going to miss out.  Order any Carine Mackenzie title before she comes and we can arrange for her to sign it with an inscription of your choice. We will despatch the signed books to you in the week beginning Nov 23rd.  Don't delay because we want to make sure we have the books you want in stock.

Don't forget that these three titles are being sold at special prices just for this event...

 Lorna

Hostage Lands - Douglas Bond

Oops, we haven't blogged for a month - sorry folks! Just thought I would sneak a post into August by mentioning a book I re-read last week.

A couple of weeks ago we spent a weekend staying up in Northumberland near Hadrian's Wall and it reminded me of a fab book I read a few years ago. Hostage Lands is a historical fiction book written by Douglas Bond about a schoolboy in modern day England who struggles with his Latin lessons at school. Living alongside Hadrian's Wall does nothing to encourage his interest in the language that would once have been used in the area. Until that is, he finds a set of Roman tablets detailing (in Latin) a story of treachery, betrayal and warring allegiances between a Roman Centurion, an Auxiliary and a Celtic tribe.  So much can be learnt from the book about the ways of the Romans, the Celts and the area, plus most importantly the Christian faith of the Auxiliary which shines through in his walk and character.  I highly recommend visiting the area too - it makes it all so much more real when the places you visit like Haltwhistle or Vindolanda are mentioned in the book.

You can find out more about the book on Douglas Bond's website http://www.bondbooks.net/hostagelands.htm and even read a sample chapter.

In this Heroes & History series Douglas Bond has also written Hand of Vengeance an Anglo-Saxon story every bit as engaging as Hostage Lands.

Lorna

Hostage Lands by Douglas Bond, £7.99, published by P & R

It's not too late yet!

If you're still wondering what to buy Auntie Gladys for Christmas (or anyone else for that matter), I'm sure we have the perfect book & there is still time to get it to you before Christmas.  Browse the website or give us a call - we are always happy to advise, plus we can even gift wrap it and send it straight to Auntie Gladys if that makes life easier for you!
Daily devotional books are always a welcome gift and there is a nice new one available called A Pilgrim's Treasury - this is a complete Bible Survey from Genesis to Revelation using the popular Pilgrim Bible Notes which have been compiled into book form for the first time. Or how about a lovely leather-look gift edition of daily readings compiled from George Whitefield's writings, or Hawker's Morning and Evening Portions, or Philpot's Through Baca's Vale (which you could even get as an eBook - now wouldn't that be convenient). I could keep going with suggestions, but perhaps a look through our Devotional section would help you make a choice.
If you are buying books for children before the end of the year, don't forget that we are currently offering a selection of children's books on a '3 for 2' deal. Have a read of our December eBulletin which gives details of this offer.

Don't forget LAST POSTING DATES are

WEDNESDAY 18th December for SECOND CLASS

FRIDAY 20th December for FIRST CLASS

We can also use our courier to get last minute deliveries to you right up to Monday 23rd December.

Lorna

Covenanting Country

Fact: Reading aloud is still an exciting family activity that engages young and old alike.  It's true!
We recently spent a week in South West Scotland, 'Covenanting country', and enjoyed some lovely relaxing evenings reading from 'The Two Margarets - Danger on the Hill' by Catherine Mackenzie. From 2 years old to 40*ahem*ish years old, we were each enthralled by the story of Margaret Wilson and Margaret MacLachlan and their faithfulness unto death.  Catherine Mackenzie excellently weaves a fictional story around the true facts known about the case of the two Margarets.  Margaret Wilson is only 18 years old and her siblings younger when they are forced to flee from their parents and comfortable home and hide from the authorities in the hills surrounding Wigtown.  With large sums promised as a reward for their capture they are eventually betrayed by a family friend and handed over to the authorities.  The strength of their faith was incredible in the face of such circumstances and this is vividly portrayed in the story. Visiting Wigtown and the scene of such atrocities and spotting signposts with farm names and local areas from the story served to really bring the truth of it all home to the children.  Even if it is not possible to visit the area, the story will still take you back to that time & place and hold you there with bated breath to see what the outcome will be.
The Two Margarets - Danger on the Hill by Catherine Mackenzie, also available as an eBook. This book is part of the Torchbearer series which are all fictionalized biographies of martyrs.
Incidently, our eldest son badgered us to go to this part of the country after being inspired by the Crown & Covenant series a historical fiction series about the Covenanting times - a brilliant series for boys.
Lorna

Prayer

Many books have been written on the subject of prayer, but not so many for children.  Children can often in their simple and innocent way ask very deep questions about religious and spiritual matters, including prayer. These two books, aimed at 5-10yr olds, are helpful in specifically addressing the issue of prayer through stories and examples of praying people.  Prayer is very personal & unique to each individual. By using a range of stories both from the Bible and the lives of believers Irene Howat draws out lessons that will help children understand the importance of prayer.  The message is clear - prayer is relevant to all situations & prayer will be answered.
I think these books could be well used as bedtime reading and will encourage children to end their day with prayer.
Lorna

God Answers Prayer for Boys, Irene Howat, £5.99
God Answers Prayer for Girls, Irene Howat, £5.99