Nora St. Laurent runs two book clubs near Atlanta, Ga., and is the coordinator for the ACFW Book Club. Nora currently writes a Book Club Column for the Christian Fiction Online Magazine. She writes reviews and interviews authors on her blog Carol Award: Long Historical: Finalist: Here Burns My Candle
Title: Here Burns My Candle
Author: Liz Curtis Higgs
Publisher: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group (Laura Barker, Editor)
ISBN: 9781400070015
Category: Long Historical
Reviewed by: Nora St. Laurent
Here Burns My Candle is a timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland. Liz Curtis Higgs’s story illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.
Higgs creates a heartfelt, colorful story that touches on all your senses.
Here Burns My Candle is loosely based on the biblical characters of Naomi and Ruth. Mrs. Marjory Kerr represents Naomi. Marjory’s a woman who wants the best for her sons—and a mother who can’t face her or her family’s future. Elizabeth, Marjory’s daughter-in-law, represents Ruth, a woman who has left her country of the Highlands, but not the practice of worshiping the moon—which she does in secret. Elizabeth, plagued with doubt that her husband really loves her, tries to fit in this foreign land though she is unsure of this country’s nameless God.
Higgs creates a heartfelt, colorful story that touches on all your senses. It’s rich in history as she describes the political takeover of Charles Edward Stuart and how the people loved him. As usual, Higgs has done her research and uncovered some fascinating treasures. Don’t miss the author notes at the back of the book.
It was a little difficult to get into the rhythm of reading the dialect in this story. I found the author notes fascinating and the Scottish Glossary in the back of the book extremely helpful. I prepared myself for the read by starting with the glossary and the author notes. Then I dug in.
Higgs tells of her beloved Scotland and how most of the city is the same now as it was back in 1745. This author loves Scotland and has been there several times. Who better to write this story, than someone who loves the land and its people? This was a fascinating read and one you shouldn’t rush through.
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