Here Burns My Candle
Liz Curtis Higgs, 2010
Doubleday Religious Publishing
480 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781400070015
Summary
A mother who cannot face her future. A daughter who cannot escape her past.
Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.
Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.
His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.
One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.
A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—July, 1954
• Where—Lititz, Pennsylvania, USA
• Education—B.A., Bellamine College
• Awards—Christy Award (see "Published works")
• Currently—lives in Louisville, Kentucky
Liz Curtis Higgs is an award-winning author of both fiction and non-fiction books, as well as children's books. She is also a veteran public speaker and former radio personality. To date, Higgs has written thirty books, with more than three million copies in print, and is the recipient of several literary awards.
Early years
The youngest of six children, Higgs is a native of Lititz in eastern Pennsylvania. An avid reader even as a child, she started with Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames then moved on to Newberry medal winners. Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time was also an influence on her early reading.
At the age of 10, Liz hand wrote her first novel in a Marble notebook—a Nancy Drew spinpoff she called Mountain Cabin Mystery. She continued writing mysteries and romances up through her high school years.
Higgs attended Bellarmine College, graduating in with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Struggling with weight and self-confidencer as a teenager, Higgs refers to herself a "Former Bad Girl" in Bad Girls of the Bible series. As she admits, she "spent a decade immersed in a sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle," finding it easier to identify with some of the wild women of the Bible when she first became a Christian.
After college, Higgs worked in Detroit, Mich. as a rock-radio DJ along with Howard Stern; then in 1981 she moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where she continued her work as a DJ. It was a career she pursued for 10 years and which inspired much of her first novel Mixed Signals (1999). Her second book Bookends also includes some autobiographical information: the novel is set in the Moravian community in Pennsylvania, where she spent her childhood.
Christianity and marriage
By 1982 Christiaity had become a life changing force for Higgs, and though she remained in secular radio, her show began to reflect her strong faith. Churches began inviting Higgs to share her testimony with her message of humor and hope—until by 1986 she was speaking ninety times a year, on top of her six-day-a-week radio job.
In 1986 Higgs also married Bill, a broadcasting engineer with a Ph.D. in Old Testament languages. She left the radio world the next year when she learned she was expecting her first child. Matthew was born in 1987. The couple's second child Lillian was born in 1989. Today, Higgs and her husband live in Louisville, Kentucky. Bill Higgs supports his wife as the Director of Operations for her speaking and writing enterprises.
Writing carreer
Higgs's historical fiction is set in Scotland, a country that has fascinated her since the 1980s, at least. She had developed love for Scottish folk music and calendars featuring Scottish scenery. Then in 1996 she and her husband spent their 10th anniversary in Scotland where her "love affair with all things Caledonian began in earnest."
Her desire to write fiction came long before she began focusing on the women of the Bible. It wasn't until 1995 that she was introduced to Christian fiction through a bookseller who had a booth at one of the conferences where she was speaking.
For ten years Higgs was a columnist for Today’s Christian Woman magazine. Her articles have also appeared in Faith & Friends in Canada, Woman Alive in Great Britain, and Enhance in Australia. And more than 4,500 churches nationwide use her video Bible study series, Loved by God.
Published works
1. Nonfiction books for women:
Rise and Shine
Embrace Grace
My Heart's in the Lowlands
The Girl's Still Got It
2. Bad Girls of the Bible series:
Bad Girls of the Bible
Really Bad Girls of the Bible—ECPA Gold Medallion Finalist
Unveiling Mary Magdalene
Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible—Retailers Choice Award
Companion workbooks for all the above
3. Contemporary novels
Mixed Signals—RITA Award Finalist
Bookends—Christy Award Finalist
Three Weddings and a Giggle (coauthored with Karen Ball and Carolyn Zane)
4. Scottish Historical fiction:
Thorn in My Heart
Fair Is the Rose
Whence Came a Prince—Christy Award for Best Historical Fiction
Grace in Thine Eyes
Here Burns My Candle
Mine is the Night
A Wreath of Snow
5. Children's books: Parable series was awarded the ECPA Gold Medallion for Excellence
The Pumpkin Patch Parable
The Sunflower Parable
The Parable of the Lily
The Pine Tree Parable
Go Away, Dark Night
Public speaking
Since 1986, Liz Curtis Higgs has presented more than 1,700 inspirational programs for audiences in all 50 states as well as 14 foreign countries. In 1995, Higgs received the highest award for speaking excellence, the “Council of Peers Award for Excellence,” becoming one of only forty women in the world named to the CPAE-Speaker Hall of Fame by the National Speakers Association. (Bio adapted from Wikipedia and with gracious input from the author.)
To find out more about Liz's Scottish historical fiction...
- Website: http://www.MyScottishHeart.com
- Blog: http://www.MyScottishHeart.com/blog/
- Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/MyScottishHeart
- Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/MyScottishHeart
- Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/lizcurtishiggs/a-victorian-visit-to-stirling-scotland/
Book Reviews
Prolific and popular Christy winner Higgs (Whence Came a Prince) returns to Scotland with this historical tale set in the 1745 Jacobite rebellion led by Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of the deposed King James. In Edinburgh, Lady Elisabeth Kerr brings beauty, modest origins, and Highland-born sympathy for Bonnie Prince Charlie to her marriage to the handsome royalist Lord Donald Kerr, who loves his wife and has an eye for beautiful women. She secretly follows the auld ways, pagan worship of the moon. Donald, too, has his secret affairs; his widowed mother, Dowager Lady Marjory Kerr, has bags of gold hidden away. The story begins slowly, picking up speed after characters and tensions are introduced and rebellious forces take Edinburgh. The characters are remarkably flawed—the better to be redeemed in an evangelical Christian novel—though Donald's flaws and Elisabeth's notable patience may try some readers' patience. Higgs is a stickler for period authenticity and has done her homework on history and dialect. Fans have been waiting five years for this novel and will not be disappointed.
Publishers Weekly
During the 1745 Jacobite uprising in Scotland, Lady Elisabeth Kerr and her husband, Lord Donald Kerr, are on opposite sides of the political divide. And both have secrets: Elisabeth follows the pagan religion, while Donald carries on affairs with several women. They, along with Elisabeth's mother, Marjorie, try desperately to guard their secrets as political tensions build in the country. Verdict: Christy Award winner Higgs (Whence Came a Prince) has a faithful following, and though these characters are sometimes too whiny, the author's broad appeal makes this a winner for those who love period detail in their historicals.
Library Journal
As a Highlander, Elisabeth Kerr is delighted when she hears that bonny Prince Charlie is marching on Edinburgh, intent on claiming his father’s throne. The rest of Elisabeth’s family, including her mother-in-law Dowager Lady Marjory Kerr, is less than thrilled with the idea given that they owe their position in society to the British crown.... Based on the first part of the Book of Ruth, Christy-award winner Higgs’s latest richly detailed, leisurely paced novel about two women whose faith brings them closer together is a compelling tale of love, loss, faith, and forgiveness that is certain to please both inspirational readers and fans of well-crafted historical fiction. —John Charles
Booklist
Discussion Questions
1. History plays a major role in Here Burs My Candle. Not only Scottish history, but also ancient history steps onto the stage since our two main characters, Marjory and Elisabeth Kerr, are drawn from the biblical story of Naomi and Ruth. How did your familiarity with the original story shape your reading experience? What surprises did you find along the way? In what ways were the characters different than you expected? What are the benefits of taking a fictionalized look at a well-known story?
2. Although Elisabeth Kerr is featured on the cover, the novel opens by introducing us to her mother-in-law, Marjory Kerr. How would you describe Marjory in the first chapter? And in the final chapter? What changes did you notice in her attitude toward the Almighty One over the course of the novel? And how did your feelings toward Marjory change, if at all, from first page to last? In your own experience, is growth more often borne of joy or of pain? Why might that be the case?
3. Ruth is celebrated as one of the “good girls” of the Bible, yet we often forget she began life as a pagan Moabitess, captured here in Elisabeth’s worship of the Nameless One.Why do you think Elisabeth continued the auld ways even after marrying into a churchgoing family? In what ways does the power of tradition shape our attitudes and actions? In chapter 4 Elisabeth poses many questions about the Almighty One. If you were sitting across from her right now, how would you answer her?
4. Donald and Andrew have their biblical counterparts too. Donald is based on Mahlon, whose name means “weakling” or “infertility.” How does that description fit Donald? What other words might you use to characterize him? What, if anything, did you like about Elisabeth’s husband? Andrew is patterned after Chilion, whose name means “pining” or “consumptive.” Again, how do those words suit Andrew? Would Lord John have been proud of his sons, as Marjory was on that October eve in the forecourt of the palace, described in chapter 42?Why or why not?
5. Faithfulness and forgiveness are two themes interwoven throughout the story. In what ways are Marjory, Elisabeth, and Donald faithful? And unfaithful? For what does each need forgiveness and from whom? If you were in Elisabeth’s place, faced with a loved one’s request to “Forgive me…for all of it,” how might you respond? In what ways do these characters’ struggles with faithfulness and forgiveness reflect our desire to connect with others on a more meaningful level?
6. The epigraphs that open each chapter are meant to capture the heart of the action to come. How does the quote from George Herbert --- “Words are women, deeds are men” --- suit chapter 32? To what extent does his statement reflect your assessment of female-male differences? Choose an epigraph you especially like from the novel. Why does it appeal to you, and how does the quote match the chapter it introduces?
7. Marjory calls Elisabeth “a keeper of secrets.” In truth, all the major characters in this story have something to hide. When Simon reveals his painful past, how does that impact Elisabeth’s heart? When Donald confesses his litany of sins on paper, how does that affect the lives of those around him? And what secrets do Marjory and Elisabeth each harbor? In life, as in fiction, how might keeping secrets cause more harm than sharing the truth with those we love and trust?
8. Though Rob MacPherson has no biblical counterpart, he plays an important role in this story. What do his interactions with Elisabeth reveal about her character? And what does his relationship with Marjory tell us about her? How does Rob compare with Donald? Do you find Rob appealing or disturbing, and why? In what ways does Rob fall short of true hero status? What sort of future would you choose for him?
9. Loss is one of the central themes of the novel, summarized in Marjory’s own fears: “Surely a grieving widow could not lose everything. Not all she owned. Not everything.” Name all the things, big and small, that are taken from Marjory. Which of these losses struck you as most unexpected? If you’ve experienced one or more of these losses, how was your life affected? How would you cope if you truly lost everything? To what or whom would you look for strength and help, whatever the extent of your loss?
10. When Elisabeth chooses which direction her future will take, do you think she is running away from something or toward something, and why? Does Elisabeth fit the definition of a true heroine: a woman who loves sacrificially? If so, how? If not, what is she lacking? Her newfound faith will surely be tested in the sequel, Mine Is the Night. What indications do you have about how Elisabeth might respond to future trials and tribulations? What about Marjory? What course do you imagine their relationship will take in the months ahead?
11. Now that you’ve read this 18th-century interpretation, read the real story in Ruth 1:1–18. As you consider the passage verse by verse, what parallels do you find between the Scottish novel and the biblical original? What “famine” might Lord John and Lady Marjory have experienced that sends them packing for Edinburgh? Why do you suppose Orpah turns back, just as Janet does? In Ruth 1:18 Naomi falls silent; Marjory does the same in the final chapter. Why, in each story, might that be the case?
12. Our Readers Guide opens with a quote from Thomas Carlyle, a 19th-century Scottish historian and essayist. In what ways does the historical reality of the Jacobite Rising of 1745 serve as a fitting backdrop for this story? What more recent historical event might also provide an interesting setting for this story and its themes? What eternal truths did you find illuminated in the hearts and lives of these characters? Finally, what do you love most about historical fiction, and what did you enjoy about Here Burns My Candle in particular?
(Questions Copyright 2013 by Liz Curtis Higgs.)