As the Civil War approaches, a quiet Quaker community struggles to uphold its peaceful existence amidst bitter national debates about slavery and the treatment of American Indians. (Historical Fiction)
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Adroit plotting and deft characterizations, hallmarks of veteran author de Hartog's fiction, are again present in this final volume of his trilogy about Quaker life (after Peaceable Kingdom and The Lamb's War ). A captivating tale set primarily in the American West of the 1830s, it concerns devout, individualistic members of the Religious Society of Friends (the self-styled "Peculiar People") who struggle to put their ideals into practice as they confront divisive issues of human injustice. As they respond to the plights of slaves and American Indians--even as these issues divide their church--de Hartog's characters travel on private spiritual odysseys, grappling with doubts and profound personal weaknesses. At the center of the novel is Mordecai Monk, an affluent English chocolate manufacturer who becomes a seductively eloquent and controversial evangelist, then an abnegating pilgrim witnessing among the dislocated Shawnee, next an uncertain shaman, and ultimately a Quaker martyr. Throughout, he struggles with personal demons and overpowering lust. Indiana schoolteacher Lydia Best, stripped of her position and disgraced for aiding escaped slaves, accompanies Monk among the Shawnee as they are herded west by the U.S. Cavalry. Former Philadelphians Obadiah and Charity Woodhouse undergo similar transformations as they pursue their faith. De Hartog skillfully evokes the Quaker community both regionally and internationally. This is masterful storytelling, conducted in a lively prose full of colorful details and fascinating insights into the subtleties of faith, leadership and sacrifice.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
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This review is from: Peculiar People (Hardcover)
"The Pecular People" by Jan de Hartog is a very boring book not like its previous volume, "The Peaceable Kingdom." There were so many characters without explaining who they were. So much script was used without even knowing who the characters were and how they related to the story. There were pages and pages of incidents that seemed like insignificant information and conversations that contributed nothing to the theme of the book. Sorry, I've read several of his books including The Peaceable Kingdom, The Lamb's War, The Spiral Road, etc. and thoroughly enjoyed them, but this one is a miss.
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