The Amethyst Heart [Paperback]

Penelope J. Stokes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 2000

The only possession Miss Amethyst Noble loves as much as the antique brooch she wears at her throat is Noble House-a symbol of freedom, faith, and a family history proudly and inextricably entwined with the history of a nation. For a hundred and forty years, Noble House has been a place of shelter, hope, and healing in Cambridge, Mississippi. A place of miracles.

When she discovers her dissolute son has designs to sell the ancestral home out from under her, Miss Amethyst-ninety-three years old and as sharp as eve- isn't about to let that legacy go. If her son is lost to her, there's still her granddaughter. Little Am, who had once held such sweet promise, but the gentle, good-natured child has mutated in her teenage years into something else altogether. But whatever it takes, Little Am is going to know that the Noble family heritage is worth fighting for.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stokes (The Blue Bottle Club) offers an earnest but predictable Christian novel chronicling six generations of the Noble family of Cambridge, Miss. At age 93, Amethyst Noble, fighting to save her family home from a greedy and shiftless son, recounts the family history for her great-granddaughter. Her story begins in the antebellum era, when Silas Noble, a young white doctor from Baltimore, comes to Mississippi fresh from medical school and is won over to the abolitionist cause. Befriending a slave called Booker, he helps the man and his family escape to freedom during the Civil War. Silas and his wife, Pearl, like their granddaughter Amethyst, are too good to be true, and their long, preachy speeches make the eyes glaze over. The narrative skirts historical melodrama: as Booker is planning his escape, Harriet Tubman materializes to guide his family to freedom, and when Amethyst fights her own "good fight" for civil rights nearly a century later, an adolescent Martin Luther King Jr. shows up at a local rally and solemnly announces, "This is my calling." Stokes orchestrates some touching moments, and Amethyst is a likable (though unrealistically pious) protagonist, but the excess of sentiment makes for a predictable denouement. (May)

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Penelope Stokes holds a Ph.D. in Renaissance Literature and has taught literature and writing at the college level. Stokes has written 12 books and edited more than 150 CBA novels and nonfiction books. She now lives and works from her home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (June 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849942357
• ISBN-13: 978-0849942358
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,490,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Amethyst Heart, July 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Amethyst Heart (Hardcover)

Penelope Stokes has the gift of transporting the reader from every day life to an extraordinary place that touches the heart and renews the spirit. One of the simplest purest messages of The Amythest Heart closes the age gap and reminds us getting old doesn't stop us from feeling. From Two to Ninety and beyond, we all hurt, we all feel, we all love. The characters are not only vivid but surely must be alive somewhere.

I carried this book everywhere with me for the two days it took to finish it. It was worth every dish I didn't wash, every bed I didn't make and every meeting I ducked out of. I will be anxiously watching the shelves for the next one Ms. Stokes writes!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's About Time!!, May 7, 2002

By 

Cindy "ChaosInBlue" (Jackson, WY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Amethyst Heart (Paperback)

I have been searching for years for a Christian author who doesn't hit you over the head with the "message." Up until now, Francine Rivers is the only one who could do that!! I am so thankful to have found Penelope J. Stokes!! This is the 2nd novel I have read by her and will now systematically work my way through her books!! If any of them hold a candle to The Amethyst Heart, I am in for a rare treat!!

The Amethyst Heart captured my imagination from the beginning and held it until I closed the book. What a fabulous history lesson this was....not written in a heavy-handed way, but pushed along with the strength of the characters Stokes draws. I miss them already!!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new fan for Penelope Stokes!, August 23, 2001

By 

Marcie "nuts about books" (Carpenter, SD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Amethyst Heart (Paperback)

This is the first novel by Penelope Stokes that I have read, but certainly it won't be the last! This book had everything, romance, adventure, history, and all without any bad language or explicit sex. The story revolves around 93 year old Amethyst, who is about to be evicted from her lifelong home by her own son. After taking her great granddaughter (also named Amethyst) hostage, Amethyst begins to tell her the history of the house and her ancestors, beginning with Silas Noble who came to Mississippi to be a doctor for the plantations in the area. He married Pearl, another who shared his beliefs that everyone, slaves and the wealthy deserve the same medical care. Throughout their married lives, Pearl and Silas are great friends with the black slaves and even help many of them escape to the north. After Silas passes on, he leaves the land to his best friend and former slave, Booker's son Enoch instead of his own son Abe, who is the complete opposite of his parents. The story continues with the next generations, Abe's daughter and Enoch's and how they continued the fight to make black people free and accepted. The book is always interesting and one of those stories you wish wouldn't end. I am looking forward to reading all the other novels by Penelope Stokes and would recommend this to any age group.