Marjorie Bowen

Marjorie Bowen is one of the lesser known authors that Inheritance Publications have reprinted. Her historical fiction focuses on two major characters, Oliver Cromwell and William of Orange (in the 'William and Mary Trilogy'). It is a contribution quite different from other authors I have read on these men. Her style of writing is very dramatic - perhaps psychological is the word. There is lots of intense dialogue and careful description, and she stages some fascinating interviews between Cromwell and King Charles I, showing the contrast between them, and yet, surprisingly, the similarity also. She doesn't major on military themes, she indulges her imagination rather around some of the historical details and she doesn't fully grasp the nature of the personal faith of these men - these are some negatives. Hence it would be wise to read other biographies as well to achieve balance, but this is a point that is equally true of most authors. However, for emotionally engaging books, far removed from dry and dusty history, Marjorie Bowen provides some very fine reading for teenagers upwards.

Our current offer of 25% off all Inheritance Publications ends 31st January 2019 - don't miss out!

New Opening Times and our New Year Offer

We're making changes to our opening times this year.  We will now be closed on Wednesdays, but don't worry, the ansaphone is always on and of course the website is available 24/7!

To kick off 2019 we have a brilliant offer on all Inheritance Publications. Inheritance are particularly well known for their range of sound reformed historical fiction but we do also stock some of their non-fiction titles too. Have a look here... Inheritance Publications. If you want to take advantage of our offer use the code INH25 at the checkout to get your 25% discount.

Summer shop news...

Summer has been busy with all the usual summer craziness, plus the sun (which is always a bonus!). We have loved receiving lots of really enthusiastic reviews for the books on our Summer Reading Challenge and our Wall of Fame in the shop is filling up nicely:

Our big intake of Inheritance Publications stock has been gradually added to the website, so keep checking the site and hopefully you will see the list growing each time you check back. You may wonder why this is taking so long, but many of these books are so fascinating that we just find ourselves reading them (one of the perks of the job!) and it tends to extend the time involved in listing them (!). We have just received another mini-review of one of the books (Stefan Derksen's Polar Adventure) which we quote below to whet your appetite:

It’s 1675 and 12 year old Stefan has found himself aboard the ‘Sea Dragon’ whaling ship. Sailing is in his blood! Stefan’s father, Otto Derksen had departed Harlingen, the Netherlands, in 1671, as 1st mate on the ‘North Star’ whaling ship. Otto never returned. And Stefan’s mother refuses to hear any more about his sailing desires. Instead she accepts an apparently cordial offer from a distant cousin to teach Stefan the shoemaking trade.
And yet as providence would have it, Stefan’s time with his cruel cobbler uncle leads him to run away, and Stefan navigates his way to Amsterdam. Mercifully, he bumps into an old acquaintance of his fathers who secures him board on the ‘Sea Dragon’. Stefan is a fast learner and shows promise of becoming an accomplished sailor. However life on board a whaling ship is full of hard, back-breaking work and fraught with dangers - not least the ever-changing elements. Stefan lurches from one adventure to another as they encounter storms, and calms; icebergs and polar bear attacks.
As the small whaling boats are sent from the mother ship in order to undertake the dangerous task of snaring whales, the boat Stefan is in becomes lost in the fog. Stefan and the five other sailors with him now face the hardest challenge of their lives. Survival! Survival in the treacherous, remote, unforgiving sea off the east coast of Greenland. Stefan’s feats are breath-taking, including  swimming in the freezing ocean to pull his fellow ship-wrecked sailors to land. They are stranded on an ice floe!
The men have to rely on their instincts to survive, hunting seals to assuage their gnawing hunger, finding shelter and ingenious ways to keep warm. All this in the face of Greenland’s approaching winter.
This truly is a fascinating and compelling read. Stefan and his sailor friends continue to pray and trust that the Lord will bring them through, even in the face of extreme adversity. They sing psalms to lift their spirits, and are finally brought to praise God for his remarkable deliverance. 

And in other news... the AV Calendar for 2019 has arrived, we can't resist showing you a sneak peak because it has a contemporary new look...













We are busy adding screws and bolts to the blocks and ribbon to the backs so they are not quite ready for sending out yet but we are happy to take orders from now.
Keep in touch!

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