The Longing Season (Music of the Heart #2) [Paperback]

Christine Schaub (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2006

In the 1740s, British culture allows few options for the son of a merchant ship captain. And in a time of war, a man with John Newton’s experience must serve the king. But Newton—a man who quotes Virgil and curses God with equal fervor—is interested in serving only himself. Mary Catlett simply cannot believe her childhood friend sailed away on a British warship and vanished in Africa. In desperation, she takes a step that will change her life and call her lost love home. But will he arrive in time? Newton’s odyssey takes him from the West Africa gold coast to the banks of Newfoundland to the heart of the Atlantic before he finds what he’s spent his entire life longing for: deliverance. In an account that challenges popular myth, Schaub continues the Music of the Heart series with one of the greatest redemption stories of all time—the story of “Amazing Grace.” (Music of the Heart Book 2)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... the second book in the Music of the Heart series ... is a welcome and worthy successor to the first." -- Craig Hart, christian-fiction-online

"Anyone who has gone through bouts of loneliness or hard times... will find this book entertaining, insightful, and poignant." -- Angela A. Wood, Christian Book Previews.com

"No fictional story can stand up to this love story based on facts." -- Cynthia Whitten, romancereaderatheart.com

"Readers of inspirational and historical novels will find this book a gem." -- Jeri Neal, theromancereadersconnection.com

"Readers will be encouraged by the message of hope and the power of love..." -- Sherri Myers, romancejunkies.com

"Schaub certainly knows how to hold our attention and bring us inspiration through her elegant and beautiful prose." -- Lorri M, bookdiva.net

"Schaub's attention to the effect that passions have on people in tragic circumstances evoke a wide array of emotional responses." -- Nellie Heitman, Foreword Magazine

"The entire book is well written ... Good for all readers. An interesting idea for a Christian book club." -- Marty Medley, armchairinterviews.com

"This author’s unique voice, well-written and fast-paced read was a joy making me both laugh and cry." -- Marilyn Rondeau, RIO – Reviewers International Organization

"a fast-paced and often-surprising inspirational novel that I recommend even to those who would not normally choose this genre." -- Nancy J. Attwell, Historical Novels Review

From the Back Cover

"The Longing Season brings to life the reason for hymns—the ache of longings and struggles before we can sing of acceptance and joy. This hymn series provides wonderful, true-to-life insights that have me saying, ‘I can relate to that.’ Excellent writing and inspiring reading."
—Marsha Blackburn, Member of Congress

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764200607
• ISBN-13: 978-0764200601
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,463,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a Michigan farm girl, as well as a writer, speaker, actor and pianist. "Finding Anna," my debut novel, launched the MUSIC OF THE HEART series, followed by "The Longing Season." Both books explore the writers of our most famous hymns and received instant acclaim from reviewers. I live in Nashville, Tennessee, and invite readers to visit me at www.christineschaub.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Longing Season - a MUST READ, July 4, 2006

By 

Karen Eve "Karen Eve Reviews" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Longing Season (Music of the Heart #2) (Paperback)

"The Longing Season", by Christine Schaub, is a "must read", even if you've never heard a hymn. This is the story of John Newton, who wrote the most popular hymn of all time, "Amazing Grace", and his beloved Mary Catlett Newton. Now before you run screaming from visions of a boring biography, I assure you this is anything but.

Christine Schaub has brought John and Mary Newton to life in this captivating novel. Before I read this, I was aware that Newton had been a slave trader, but I had no idea of what a complete reprobate he had been and how little he deserved the fidelity and love of Mary, a courageous woman who was truly ahead of her time. "The Longing Season" focuses on their courtship period when Newton has gone missing after sailing for Africa; and Mary Catlett who holds onto hope for his return without giving up her own personal life. This has to be one of the great redemption and love stories of all time, and Schaub wove it together so well, I could not put it down even though I knew how it ended.

"The Longing Season" is the second book from the "Music of the Heart" series. "Finding Anna", the story of Horatio Gates Spafford who wrote "It Is Well With My Soul", is the first book and on my list to read next. I am certain it will be just as fascinating as "The Longing Season".

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Story of Redemption - Book #2 of Series, July 5, 2006

By 

M. Rondeau (West Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Longing Season (Music of the Heart #2) (Paperback)

If good things come in small packages, then you are in for a real treat with this short but very powerful and poignant story found in Christine Schaub's THE LONGING SEASON -- second book in her `Music of the Heart' series.

As the son of a sea captain in England 1746, there were few options open for a young man than to serve his king during a time of war. Unfortunately the young, brash John Newton served only himself. Going off to sea that journey would see him flogged, turned into a slave, then into a slave trader living a degenerate lifestyle while renouncing all of God's teachings. By some small miracle, word reached him from home and John would start on a new journey with a small `sliver of hope' that the young woman he'd once lost his heart to would still be waiting there. The journey would be full of pitfalls that would test his faith and bring him to his knees, but through it all Newton would discover the journey to redemption would be one of the most important of his life. Later in life, he would reflect over that journey and go on to write one of the most beloved hymns of all time - `Amazing Grace'.

This was an extraordinary read. The author researched and wrote this with impeccable attention to detail breathing life into the characters that made them even bigger than life. While John Newton led an interesting and incredible life, I was more impressed by the woman he loved. Mary Catlett was a young woman who gave away her heart to a childhood sweetheart, yet when all had given him up for dead remained steadfast in her determination praying for his safe return. Afforded a season in London, courted by a very handsome, very eligible and honorable heir to an Earldom she would turn down a brilliant offer of marriage to remain `waiting for John'.

This author's unique voice, well-written and fast-paced read was a joy making me both laugh and cry. To be sure, as a soloist in my church choir I will have a much greater appreciation while singing one of my personal favorite hymns now knowing of the trials this man's journey of redemption took him on to create such a masterpiece. I loved this book and very highly recommend it.

Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Organization

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best, December 5, 2006

By 

April M. Gardner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Longing Season (Music of the Heart #2) (Paperback)

Newton stood at the highest point on the neck of land, easily locating Stella Polaris in the rainless, star-studded sky....On the African coast he was successful and powerful. He had his own hut with household servants and two concubines ready to meet his every carnal need. When he returned from one of his regular slave-trading expeditions, he could relax beneath the frankincense tree, fish for bunga in the river, or walk along the beach with his Euclid. No Navy captains harangued him. No religious dogma restrained him.
He lived exactly as he pleased.
True, it was not the life he had envisioned for so long. It did not include the brilliantly lit shops of Cheapside and the gentlemen's clubs at Pall Mall. It did not include Mary.
...The Mende practices were far removed from the English and his mother's religion. "Diabolical...wretched," she would have called them. Well, then. He supposed he would live and die a wretch among them.

Excerpt from: The Longing Season

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!" Who doesn't know the well-loved hymn? Who hasn't hummed the tune, or heard it played at a church service, on a movie, at a funeral? However, what few know is the deep, heart-wrenching story behind the words.
Before writing the poem turned hymn, sacred to so many today, John Newton lived a life of debauchery and passed through the teeth of hell, escaping only by God's abounding grace. In The Longing Season, Christine Schaub vividly takes the reader on a tour of England in the 1740's. She most expertly, without bogging one down in detail, draws a mental picture of English life in different social classes.
John Newton, wrapped up in the lucrative business of slave trade in the darkest of Africa, continuously spurns the whisperings of the Holy Spirit calling him to turn his life over to God. The only one who ever owned his heart was Mary, pure and innocent. However, to return to Mary means to give up his life of pleasure and sin.
Without so much as a word of his whereabouts year after year, Mary Catlett's heart is wooed by another. Viscount Alexander Todd, a loyal friend, was, as society labeled him, "her perfect match". She had difficulty disagreeing. Yet, as a child, her affections had been given to another, that prodigal son, John Newton.
As the years tick by, Mary waits for John to return, and the viscount waits for Mary to stop loving a man who, for all they knew, had been swallowed by the sea. Only God in his sovereignty knows whether or not John's stoney pride can be broken and if Mary's fidelity can withstand the test of time.
This is a compelling story of love, the love of a man and a woman being secondary to the great love and utter patience God had with John Newton. This wonderfully true story of redemption combined with Christine's God-given gift for creative writing easily makes The Longing Season a "can't put it down" kind of book. It is a "must read" for the lover of hymns, the lover of romance, the lover of history. Unforgettable.