Customer Reviews

Outlaws of Ravenhurst

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Like the other reviewers, Sister Elaine, my seventh grade nun in Annunciation Parish School in Havertown, PA read a chapter to her class every Friday afternoon. I could not wait, so she allowed me to read ahead by myself. It is the most inspirational and most exciting book I have read and I remembered the title for 47 years. It contains the love for an ideal, love of faith and family along with cruelty, pain, war, isolation and personal strength and weakness of character that makes a book enduring. Once I found a copy, thanks to Amazon.com, my 20 year old daughter and I read it out loud to one another. She also felt that it was a powerful book with a powerful message. It also helped her understand why I sent her out of an isolated Alaskan village to Marian Heights Academy in Ferdinand, Indiana for high school. Faith is the only enduring gift we have.

I can only echo what other reviewers have said about this title. It held my interest and was so exciting that I found it hard to put down and get back to work. They certainly don't write books like this anymore. Outlaws of Ravenhurst is exciting and at times, tragic, without being overrun with the kind of gratuitous muck found in most modern novels. Truly one of the best stories I've ever read -- it will particularly appeal to boys and is definitely Catholic. Sister Imelda has done impeccable research on Scotland and old Maryland; I learned quite a lot from this book. Try it, you will not be disappointed.

This is an exciting tale filled with sword fights, secret passages, mysterious strangers and hidden identities. Set in 17th Century Scotland, it is the tale of the persecution of Catholics and their stubborn faith through great difficulties.

Since the days of Henry VIII, Great Britain has been generally hostile to Catholics. Over the past 100 years, this hostility has mainly been manifested as sneering conceit in mass market and academic publications and lampooning on comedy shows. Closer to Henry's time, it was white-hot hatred. Though practically everyone knows about the Spanish Inquisition (at least, a sensational notion of it), few people know that Catholic practice and belief was effectively outlawed in Britain and that priests could and did suffer capital punishment just for the crime of being a priest.

This ignorance of history is what makes a book like Outlaws of Ravenhurst so valuable. The title conjures up images of highland bandits--the scourge of the countryside--preying on all those unlucky enough to cross their paths. Who would think that the outlaws were, in fact, practicing Catholics and a "renegade" priest?

Outlaws of Ravenhurst is the story of a young boy and the Catholic Faith. At a tender age, "George" (as he his called at the beginning of the book) is spirited away by a mysterious stranger to colonial America--Maryland to be specific. There he is raised by the Abells, a pioneer family of the best Catholic tradition, with a dozen children. When he turns age 10, his Uncle Roger arrives from Scotland to take charge of the boy. It turns out that "George" is actually Gordon, the scion of a noble Scottish family. Roger, and his scheming cohort Godfrey, intend to make the boy into a "proper" heir, and that means teaching him to renounce the Catholic faith of his mother and father, as well as his foster parents.

But before Roger and Godfrey can put their plan in motion, Gordon meets his true mother and his Uncle Steven, a renegade Catholic priest. He also learns the true history of his family--a story of persecution, greed, bravery, cowardice, and perseverence. The ending is somewhat predictible, but getting there is certainly enjoyable and gives a good window into the hardships that British Catholics had to endure for the sake of their Faith.

This book is meant for older kids (perhaps 10 and up) but adults will enjoy it as well. The author did a nice job capturing the Scots accent of some of the more colorful characters and her prose flows easily throughout the book. Outlaws of Ravenhurst is an easy read which thrills and teaches a lesson at the same time. I read the edition published by Lepanto Press, which I think is a revised reprint done recently. It includes some amusing illustrations and I highly recommend it.

A great story about a young boy living in the 17th century who is willing to defend his Catholic faith even to the death. Filled with courage, action and surprises, this book is an inspiration to all!!!

Our teacher read from this book for a few minutes everyday. I hung on her every word and the trials and emotional ups and downs of the adventure in this story. Over the years I have tried to find this in libraries across the U.S. Just now I have found it on the net, and I am excited to buy it and take myself back to those early, carefree, childhood days once again!

SR. MARGARET MY 6TH GRADE TEACHER IN 1961 MADE ME CHECK THIS BOOK OUT FROM THE LIBRARY. I STARTED READING IT ON THE BUS HOME AND THAT WAS THE START OF MY LOVE FOR READING. AS AN ELEVEN YEAR OLD BOY I HAD NO CONCEPT OF WHAT ADVENTURES WERE IN BOOKS. THIS WAS ALSO MY FIRST EXPERIENCE OF READING A BOOK AND AT THE END THINKING THERE IS NO WAY I COULD EVER FIND ANOTHER BOOK THAT WOULD BE AS GOOD. BOY WAS I WRONG. OUTLAWS OF RAVENHURST IS EXCELLENT READING FOR 5TH 6TH 7TH GRADERS. WHAT MEMORIES

This is a wonderful book! I read it for school, and I couldn't put it down! Once you get past chapter 4, it gets so interesting! It's the story of Catholics defending their faith for God. It's an awesome story and I definitely recommend this book to YOU!

Every Catholic child should read this book. This book shows the best of the Catholic faith: spirited courage, deep love, and selfless sacrifice. And the story is very child-friendly and appropriate for readers of any age. I read it in 4th grade and it gave me so much pride and faith in my Catholic religion. I am now a college sophomore and I still remember this book fondly. It is a beautiful and meaningful introduction to Catholicism, religious persecution, and martyrdom, while still remaining age-appropriate.

I join the reviewer from Indiana in praising this book, which I remember well although it has been 35 years since I read it (3 times) in 7th and 8th grade. An intriguing adventure story. I will be giving it to my 2 children in a few years, and hope they will enjoy it half as much as I did.