A mother who cannot face her future.
A daughter who cannot escape her past.
Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.
Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.
His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.
One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.
A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.
Liz Curtis Higgs has been telling tales since she attempted her first novel–handwritten in a marble notebook–at the tender age of ten. Successful careers in broadcasting, public speaking, nonfiction writing, and children’s books honed Liz’s storytelling talents, bringing her back to her first love–writing fiction–at the turn of the 21st century.
A gifted speaker, Liz Curtis Higgs has presented more than 1,500 inspirational programs for audiences in all 50 United States as well as Germany, England, Canada, Ecuador, France, and Scotland. In 1995, Liz received the highest award in professional speaking, the “Council of Peers Award for Excellence,” becoming one of only forty women in the world named to the CPAE-Speaker Hall of Fame by the National Speakers Association.
On the personal side, Liz is married to Bill Higgs, Ph.D., who serves as Director of Operations for her speaking and writing office. Liz and Bill share their 19th-century farmhouse in Kentucky with their two teenagers, Matt and Lilly, and too many cats. For more about Liz, visit her Web site: www.LizCurtisHiggs.com.
My Impressions:
I am a BIG fan of Liz Curtis Higgs. My friends say I border on the obsessed! I have read all of her novels and have taught four of her Bible studies. I even got to meet her at a women’s conference. I have the picture to prove it. So when I was offered the chance to read and review her newest offering, Here Burns My Candle, I leaped at the chance. And I was not in the least disappointed by the novel — it is my favorite from Liz so far!
Here Burns My Candle is a retelling of the story of Ruth, set in 1745 Edinburg. The book opens with the Dowager Lady Marjory Kerr enjoying her very comfortable life at the top of Edinburg society. Living with her are her two much loved sons, Lord Donald and Andrew and her daughters-in-law, Lady Elizabeth and Janet. All seems well in the Kerr household. The family is well-respected and accepted throughout the royal city. Their apartments are filled with the things that bring them pleasure and there is more than enough gold to pay for whatever their hearts desire.
In marches Bonny Prince Charlie and his quest to regain the British crown for his father. The Kerrs all join in his cause, some for pride, some for hopes of valor and one with the heart of a true follower. All of Edinburg welcomes the Prince and his Highlanders, until the tide turns against the Jacobite cause.
Everyone loves the story of Ruth, especially women. We love how Ruth loves and cares for her mother-in-law, and how she is rewarded for her faithfulness with a kinsman redeemer. But the first 18 verses of the book is the only glimpse we see into how Ruth and Naomi’s relationship developed. I love the amount of time Liz spent in developing the relationship between Lady Marjory and Elizabeth. The reader really experiences how a woman can go from Naomi (pleasure) to Mara (bitter), and how a daughter-in-law truly becomes a daughter. I can’t wait to rejoin Elizabeth and Marjory in the sequel, and last book in the series, Mine Is The Night. I recommend this book to any reader. Do not be turned off by the length (450+ pages) or the fact that it is an historical. Here Burns My Candle is a timeless, can’t-put-it-down novel you’ll love.
Highly Recommended
To purchase Here Burns My Candle, click here.
(A big, big thank you to Waterbrook for giving me the chance to review this book. I received this book for free, and the opinions offered in my review are mine and mine alone.)
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