Journey across the ocean and back across the decades to stately and graceful early twentieth-century England in bestselling author Michael Phillips' new series THE SECRETS OF HEATHERSLEIGH HALL. In the rich tradition of George MacDonald and the Stonewycke novels, Phillips captures all the beauty and tranquility of another age. Wild Grows the Heather in Devon is the first book in this timeless and thoughtful tale of one family's journey toward faith. On the windswept downs of Devonshire looms Heathersleigh Hall, the ancient and majestic home of the Duke of Heathersleigh and his family. But an age-old secret lies hidden within its walls the key to a mystery that will forever change the lives of those who abide there. Charles Rutherford, The Duke of Heathersleigh. A man of the times, a socialist, evolutionist, and powerful politician, until a startling encounter begins to lead him toward faith. Lady Jocelyn Rutherford. A woman whose unhealed scars cause her to struggle against, and long for, the love of a good God. Amanda Rutherford. Their fiercely independent and rebellious daughter, who rejects her parents' growing faith and the changes it brings. She strikes out on her own, determined to make her mark on the world at any cost. While the shadow of war threatens England's peaceful slumber, the family's long-kept mystery begins to unravel. Who will be the first to discover THE SECRETS OF HEATHERSLEIGH HALL Book cover art: copyright 1997/Erin Dertner/Exclusively represented by Applejack Licensing.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
In 1894, Charles and Jocelyn Rutherford are living a quiet and happy life. Jocelyn, ashamed of a disfiguring birthmark on her face, remains secluded on their estate in rural England, while Charles spends a great deal of time in London as a member of Parliament. For all their separations, they are a devoted couple and adore their three children. However, when Charles has a religious awakening, Jocelyn begins to fear she is losing him. Her own religious conversion soon makes their marriage even sounder. Their daughter, Amanda, on the other hand, finds religion stifling and begins to grow away from her family. Phillips (A Dangerous Love, LJ 4/1/97) brings his usual strong characterization to this family saga, effortlessly depicting the confusion a newfound religious conversion can bring to a family. Young Amanda's struggles are particularly dramatic and insightful. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
Michael Phillips is an author, editor, publisher, and bookseller. He's written nearly 50 books, including many best sellers, and his current total book sales have capped five million.
He's also the editor of 25 books by 19th-century author George MacDonald (Bethany House). Sales now top l.5 million copies. Plus, he's the founder of Sunrise Books, which issues leather-bound editions of MacDonald's original works. At age 45, Phillips is responsible for nearly 100 titles that today circulate in the Christian marketplace.
This output stems from the printed page's greatest influence on Phillips' life. Besides the extensive library in his office, seven volumes perch in a place of honor on top of his desk. Each book represents a significant growth period in Schaeffer, C.S. Lewis, MacDonald, and Richard Foster. A key element in his work has been editing MacDonald's writings. "MacDonald has been a spiritual mentor for me," Phillips says, "exactly as he was for C.S. Lewis.
A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelley, launched Phillips' career in bookselling. While in college preparing for what he thought would be a physics career, possibly with NASA, he read Kelley's book. "It had such a profound impact on my whole spiritual being, I began giving copies away," he says.
While searching for inexpensive ways to purchase this book, Phillips created a small bookstore in one corner of his student apartment. This small venture grew, but after a few years in bookselling, Phillips found his interest in books leading him to write.
Phillips has also co-written five best-selling Bethany House fiction series with fellow Eureka, CA resident Judith Pella: the HIGHLAND and two STONEWYCKE series set in Scotland, THE JOURNALS OF CORRIE BELL HOLLISTER, and THE RUSSIANS. The Phillips/Pella titles are now approaching 2 million in sales.
His most recent books, Wayward Winds, Book 2 in the SECRETS OF HEATHERSLEIGH HALL series, and Legend of the Celtic Stone, Book 1 in his monumental new CALEDONIA series, continue his fine tradition of bringing history to life with compelling plots and intriguing characters.
A versatile author, he's had 14 books named finalists in the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's Gold Medallion award competition., and in 1993 he had the distinction of being the author of two of the top five fiction books- The Crown and the Crucible (Bethany) and Pinnacles of Power (Moody).
Phillips' life is a constant juggling of multiple objectives&operating a bookstore, a publishing company, and a home-school; writing some of the best-selling books in the industry; and maintaining a high level of confidence and enthusiasm for all God has given him to do&with family priorities on top of everything.
Phillips identifies his secret as focus: the capacity to keep his vision clear on a particular project in the midst of many vying for his attention.
Michael and Judy Phillips live in California. They have three grown sons.
size : 5.4 x 8.3
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heathersleigh Hall Series,
By Kathleen Iris "mandkjueng" (Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Wild Grows the Heather in Devon (Secrets of Heathersleigh Hall) (Paperback)
I approached reading the series by Michael Philips on Heathersliegh Hall with interest. I had read his two book series entitled Caledonia and found the story fascinating and captivating.I started reading the Hethersleigh Series in early November 2003. I couldn't stop and had all four books finished by mid January 2004. I'm a mother of two year old triplets who doesn't have a lot of time on her hands so to say I read all those and kept up my home is a miracle! The books were fabulous, captivating, intriguing, and very moving. I laughed and cried. I hadn't had a book move me to tears in a long time! I'm amazed at the depth of informaion and detail Mr. Philips put into these books. I highly recommend this series to everyone!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dragging, dragging, dragging . . .,
This review is from: Wild Grows the Heather in Devon (Secrets of Heathersleigh Hall) (Paperback)
Michael Phillips is one of my favorite authors, but he usually always gets too wordy in his novels. This one is no exception. There are a few places in the book, though, that kept me reading, hoping that I would actually find out the well-kept secret. I would think that secret would have been revealed in this book of the trilogy. The lessons learned are quite good, though, but the explanation is often monotonous, repetitive, and boring. As I start the second book in this series, it picks up quite a bit. It even fills you in on everything that happened in the first. Wish I would have started on the second! Anyways, be warned that the book is a hard to get into, but the Christian values and attitudes are wonderful!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Picturesque prose captures setting, but plot drags.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Wild Grows the Heather in Devon (Secrets of Heathersleigh Hall) (Paperback)
Having been a Michael Phillips' fan since reading his ESCAPE TO FREEDOM, I looked forward to an idyllic country setting and the unraveling of a mystery in turn-of-the-century England as promised on the book jacket of WILD GROWS THE HEATHER IN DEVON. But the book only half satisfies. While Phillips' picturesque prose does capture the serene beauty of the Devon countryside and the manners of the period, the mystery of the hidden missive set forth in the prologue remains concealed through to the 447th and final page. The book is too long, too tedious, and the plot at times unconvincing. Charles Rutherford's conversion turns on a single encounter in London. Jocelyn accepts her birth defect as given deliberately at the hand of God, rather than as something God allowed to happen for the growth of her character. Amanda we sense from the beginning to be the prodigal. Better were the plot if she became the prodigal early on in the book with the resolution to her story coming at the end. Alas, we must await the next book in the series (or perhaps the one after that) to find out what happens to her. The build-up and lack of resolution are unfair to the reader. Despite the book's didactic tone superimposed on lengthy conversations, the author does deal with the intellectual ferment of the times: questions of Darwinism, communism, and a woman's right to vote. He also probes emotional and spiritual dilemmas as well, for he recounts Jocelyn's journey through the pain and rejection of a dysfunctional childhood to her wholehearted faith, and the burning questions and open rebellion a teenager Amanda who does not adopt her parents' faith and sees God as remote and unreal. He does not skirt these issues. When the secrets of Heathersleigh Hall will be revealed remains just that--a secret. If the reader has the patience, perhaps he will discover how Amanda's future and the hidden note will come together in a later volume. Perhaps at that time the discovery of that missive will somehow begin to pierce the cloak of independence Amanda has drawn about her. As a reader, I am not sure I have that kind of patience.
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