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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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.

By Far Euphrates - Deborah Alcock

By Far Euphrates, a tale of Armenia in the 19th Century is particularly pertinent in 2015 as we remember the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.  The history of Armenia is a complex one to untangle geographically and politically. This story is set near the Euphrates close to what is now the Turkey/Syria border and relates the details of the Hamidian Massacres in 1894-1896 which preceded the more well known Genocide in 1915. Interestingly it seems that a friend requested this particular book from Deborah Alcock.  This friend had lived through and suffered in the persecution and was desperate for the wider world to hear the truth of the depths that this area of the world had descended to.  Miss Alcock worked to a tight schedule and wrote the book in only 5 weeks.  It was said that the atrocities her friend spoke of had such an emotional impact on her that she was never quite the same again.
Alcock writes with her usual depth and detail but perhaps her direct emotional involvement is what makes this book particularly powerful and gripping. The persecution of Armenian Christians in the late 1800s was truly awful; indiscriminate killing of men and boys, women and children saved alive to be subjected to worse horrors. In a helpful appendix Alcock explains which characters were real and which were fictional.  She also makes it clear that the atrocities described in the book left much detail out - she felt it impossible to depict the worst features of the horrible crimes committed.
Tragically some of the events described seem sadly and horribly familiar in these current times.  Christians are being persecuted in 139 nations around the world.  The news that feeds through to our western society is often biased and secular neither recognising nor understanding the religious elements often involved in the incidents reported.  I recently read this article 'Why don't we hear more about persecuted Christians' which gives food for thought on this subject. It is a subject which at the very least, should be kept often in our prayers.
Lorna

Chosen Daughters

I think historical fiction is a great way for children (and adults) to learn about life in certain cultures and time periods and am really pleased to have found another series that I can recommend.  The Chosen Daughters series is written by various authors and is intended to focus in on 'ordinary' women who through God's grace were able to stand firm in difficult times. Each woman shines as an example to us of real living faith. I recently read 'Weight of a Flame: The Passion of Olympia Morata' which is about a lesser known character in Italy who lived during the time of the Reformation. I really enjoyed it. The historical detail was there but not overpowering, the fictional content was gripping but not too fanciful and the spiritual application was sound. Particularly helpful was the list of characters & details about them, plus a map & also an author's note about roughly which parts were true & which were fictional.

For anyone looking for reading material for children, I would place this between Beth Coombe Harris (easier storylines) and Deborah Alcock (more complex historically).

It was fascinating to find out a bit more about the author Simonetta Carr in this interview on the 'RedeemedReader' blog.

Lorna

'Weight of a Flame' by S Carr, published by P & R, £8.99

The Romance of Protestantism

This is a book that gripped me more as I went on, rather unexpectedly. Protestantism and romance are words which some would see as mutually exclusive. But as Deborah Alcock wrote this book a hundred years ago the word 'romance' conjured up different ideas then than now. It is to be understood in the sense of drama, thrilling heroism and true nobility. So the chapters of the book (which were originally given as 'talks') take in a broad sweep of church history in order to highlight these themes. This is done in a very informative way, and although somewhat coloured by the attitude of her era, it is also tantalising enough to make one want to know more about the people, events and circumstances. Fortunately this can be done by taking up her other books which, although strictly speaking are fiction, are more focused historically, eg. 'Crushed yet Conquering' (John Huss and Bohemia), 'Dr Adrian' (William of Orange and the Dutch Republic) etc. What I found of especial interest was what she handles here along the lines of, What is Protestantism anyway? The history of the name itself, and its meaning is excellently dealt with. It is always to be remembered as a testimony for the truth of the Bible, and not so much a protest against Roman Catholicism and/or Government policy. (ie. religious or civil powers). And so the ages furnish many examples of those who were willing to sacrifice all for this principle. It is very challenging, and makes the words of Romans 8:35-39 come searchingly alive.

The edition we sell is from the Canadian publisher Inheritance Publications and costs £8.00.

Jeremy

Crushed yet Conquering

Crushed yet Conquering is a historical novel based on John Huss and the Hussite Wars. Although placed in our 11+ section I would hesitate to recommend this book to someone of such a young age.  It is a typical Deborah Alcock story, accurately historical, spiritually sound and a gripping read.  My reservations are only because the first part of the story dwells on John Huss and his theology in some detail using his writings at length to describe his defence before the 'Holy' Council and his eventual martyrdom at the stake.  This section takes some ploughing through at times, but is helped by the fictional story woven around it and becomes an easier read as the Hussite wars following the death of Huss are described.  I certainly learnt a lot about the history of this time and the theology of the Church as it was developing in the period leading up to the Reformation.
Lorna
Crushed yet Conquering by Deborah Alcock, published by Inheritance Publications, £12.50

Doctor Adrian by Deborah Alcock

This was my third book of the holiday last week and for a couple of days, I'm afraid Jeremy got very little conversation out of me. I just couldn't put it down! Okay, it is in the 'Young People' section of the shop, but I can unashamedly say that it was perfectly suitable for someone of my own age (uhem, 30-ish). Reminiscent of G A Henty, this book weaves a fictional story around a certain 'Dr Adrian' into the factual events of the sixteenth century persecution of Protestants in The Netherlands. It tells of the conversion of Dr Adrian and his contact with William, Prince of Orange. The theology underpinning the story line is soundly reformed and there are many moral and spiritual lessons to be learnt through following the distressing events of these times and how the characters involved dealt with them. This book is evidently suitable for a wide age range as Jeremy reckons he was only 12 yrs old when he read it!

Lorna