A Book I Like: Here Burns my Candle and Mine is the Night

So I just finished reading Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs and I really enjoyed it. It was a nice switchup from the usual historical fiction books I read which are almost always set in the 19th Century American West, larger cities during the Industrial Revolution, or in the ancient Roman Empire. As much as I know about my American history (and the bits of Roman history which I gleaned from Art History classes in college), I am not super familiar with Scottish History, despite having taken a History of England class at one point, which did nothing more than convince me that the English Monarchs were jerks when it came to dealing with Scotland (a conclusion I could have just as easily reached by watching Braveheart again, but whatever.)

Anyway, this book was a nice change of pace. It is one thing to know about the historical events of a nation but quite another to actually understand the culture, political, and religious climate of that place during those events. Liz Curtis Higgs really did her research with this books. She actually traveled to Scotland to see some of the places she was writing about about and she obviously took some pains to learn the dialect.

Note: If you DON'T want me to like your book, make sure that your dialogue is completely inappropriate for the time period in which the book was written. There is nothing worse than reading a book where a Roman soldier uses contractions and modern phrases.

Fortunately, Higgs avoids this scenario by using the appropriate vernacular for the time. In fact, if it weren't for the glossary provided in the back to the book, I would have no idea what some of the Highland terms mean. Good stuff all around.


As for the story, Here Burns my Candle is really the book that introduces all the characters, and sets the stage for the second book Mine is the Night. So far, I am only halfway through the second book but I already like it more than the first. It has a lot more along the lines of being an inspirational novel. The books are set in a pretty dark and uncertain time, and during most of the first book, none of the main characters really know God, which makes for a pretty depressing and hopeless book since the characters are constantly in a state of fear. The second book shows an enormous change in the characters, turning them from a bunch of a fearful, selfish women to strong, confident women who put their trust in God. It is encouraging and inspiring. I am so excited to see where this second book goes!

I would definitely recommend these books, but I'm giving you fair warning that you will definitely need to read the second after the reading the first.