This was a book I wasn't sure I would enjoy when I first started reading it, but the more I read, the more I got interested, and by the time I finished, there were tears in my eyes. The author takes a time in history that I knew very little about, and makes it come alive for me.

Thomas Torr was a man chosen by John Wycliffe to assist in translating the Latin Vulgate into English, so that the common people could read God's Word. but in the late 1300's, by order of the Roman Church, possession of an English Bible is punishable by death. This story shows what happened to Thomas, the mistakes he made, the people he trusted who betrayed him, and the people he loved who loved him to the end.

You will go from rural England to the grandeur of Rome. You will experience the life of the peasant people and the corruption of the religious leaders at that time. This story is a "vivid and accurate depiction of church history". How blessed we are to have the Bible today, available to all to read and enjoy. This book makes you stop and think about what people went through, to give us what we have today. ( )

As romance/historical novels goes this one was not too bad. The subject matter was interesting and original, and one that is sadly too little explored for its effects.

I did detect what appeared to be a distinct bias against the aristocratic and upper classes, as well as a number of historical inaccuracies.

It was claimed, for instance that the nobility who had been sympathetic to John Wycliffe during his life turned thier backs on his teachings as soon as he died because they did want to give up thier 'easy' lives and that only the peasants remained faithful.

Any serious examination of the 14th century shows that the aristocracy of the period had anything but 'easy' lives, and there were a signifigant number who did hold onto the teachings of Wycliffe for many years after his death. Indeed, these became the leaders of that became known as the 'Lollard' movement for decades afterwards.

One of the heroes, a peasant outlaw names Cayle holds to a set of beliefs that closely resemble modern Communism, when this ideology did not exist in the 14th century, and the impostition of such concepts onto the historical setting just does not fit.

Finally, one of the characters is burned at the stake for his beliefs at the end on the orders of a local official. At this time only the Church could condemn people to burning, which was the specific punishment for herecy, and none of the followers of Wycliffe suffered this penalty until 20-30 years after this book is set.

I got the feeling that this novel was in some ways intended pander to the tastes and ideas of an American audience, especially with its emphasis on the development politcal freedom and the supposed 'oppression' of the lower classes by the wicked aristorcracy, and this makes the novel appear somewhat polemical, and most of the characters beliefs and attitudes rather anachronistic. ( )