A Measure of Light by Beth Powning

In her most dramatic and ambitious novel yet, bestselling author Beth Powning re-imagines the life of Mary Dyer, a Quaker who defied death to champion religious freedom during America's earliest years.

Set in 1600s New England, A Measure of Light tells the story of Mary Dyer, a Puritan who flees persecution in Elizabethan England only to find the Puritan establishment in Massachusetts every bit as vicious as the one she has left behind. One of America's first Quakers, and among the last to face the gallows for her convictions, Mary Dyer receives here in fiction the full-blooded treatment too long denied a figure of her stature: a woman caught between faith, family and the driving sense that she alone will put right a deep and cruel wrong in the world. 

This is gripping historical fiction about a courageous woman who chafed at the power of theocracies and the boundaries of her era, struggling against a backdrop of imminent apocalypse for women's rights, liberty of conscience, intellectual freedom and justice. 

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published March 10th 2015 by Knopf Canada 

personal libary

****

Beth Powning is a 'new to me' author.  I first heard about her via a Sandra Gulland newsletter and then again when Reading the Past did a post on Canadian authors.

The cover is so complying, mysterious and rather haunting, screaming 'read me, read me!'

I knew nothing of Mary Dryer's life before reading this book.  I knew how the Quaker's/Friends were driven out of England but didn't totally grasp the prosecution taking place in New England.  With A Measure of Light the author painted a vivid and emotional picture, which showed the author's knowledge of this time period.  Visualizing what was taking place wasn't hard, Beth Powning has a unique writing style and it wasn't hard to get lost in this book. 

The life of Mary Dryer begins in England and continues in America.  Being part of the early settlers in New England was a struggle in and of itself, but add the judgements especially in regards to religion only made for conflict after conflict.  I liked Mary in one sense, seeing her commitment to what she believed in but other times I would have liked to know more of her thought process as to why she did certain things (ie stay in England so long).  I could sympathize with her reluctance to fully commit and love her children and the reasoning behind that. (though could it have been postpartum depression also?). 

All in all I really enjoyed this book, this story has stayed with me long after I finished reading it. Definitely an author I would recommend and read more of.

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

New York Times bestselling author of Girl With a Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier makes her first fictional foray into the American past in The Last Runaway, bringing to life the Underground Railroad and illuminating the principles, passions and realities that fueled this extraordinary freedom movement.

In New York Times bestselling author Tracy Chevalier’s newest historical saga, she introduces Honor Bright, a modest English Quaker who moves to Ohio in 1850, only to find herself alienated and alone in a strange land. Sick from the moment she leaves England, and fleeing personal disappointment, she is forced by family tragedy to rely on strangers in a harsh, unfamiliar landscape.

Nineteenth-century America is practical, precarious, and unsentimental, and scarred by the continuing injustice of slavery. In her new home Honor discovers that principles count for little, even within a religious community meant to be committed to human equality.

However, drawn into the clandestine activities of the Underground Railroad, a network helping runaway slaves escape to freedom, Honor befriends two surprising women who embody the remarkable power of defiance. Eventually she must decide if she too can act on what she believes in, whatever the personal costs.

A powerful journey brimming with color and drama, The Last Runaway is Tracy Chevalier’s vivid engagement with an iconic part of American history.

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published January 8th 2013 by E.P. Dutton

I am new to Tracy Chevalier and this was an impulse purchase.  Just look at the cover, I love it and of course,  the summary drew me in also.  Being a quilter and  my interest in history, well this book was just calling my name.

The story was enjoyable, it was interesting to learn more about the Quakers and the Underground Railroad, the role that quilts and other little items played, as well as the treatment of women, their rights, or lack of.  Though the book didn't go into great details about the Underground Railroad, it was still an eye opener and did show enough to pull at some heart strings here.

I enjoyed how each chapter ended with a letter, whether from Homer to her family back in England or from them to her.  I can't imagine the wait of months and months to hear any news.

This was what I would call a 'quiet' book.  Meaning it didn't grab me and take me for a ride until I was finished.  It was easy to pick up and put down, I was in no rush to finish, just enjoyed the quiet ride. I gave this book 4 stars because I did enjoy the ride and will be back to read more by Tracy Chevalier.