The Blue Flower

by Henry Van Dyke

CONTENTS The Blue Flower The Source The Mill Spy Rock Wood-Magic The Other Wise Man A Handful of Clay The Lost Word The First Christmas-Tree Henry van Dyke (1852-1933) was an American clergyman, educator, and author. He graduated from Princeton in 1873, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1874. He was pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York City (1883-99), professor of English literature at Princeton (1899-1923), and U.S. minister to the Netherlands (1913-16). Among his popular inspirational writings is the Christmas story The Other Wise Man (1896). As President Wilson's ambassador to the Netherlands from 1913, Van Dyke was a first-hand witness to the outbreak of World War I and its progress, and was a key player in the President's diplomatic efforts to keep the U.S. out of the conflict.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Literature, Christian

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1902

About the author

Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) was an American Presbyterian clergyman, educator, and author. He graduated from Princeton in 1873, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1874. He was pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York City (1883-99), professor of English literature at Princeton (1899-1923), and U.S. minister to the Netherlands (1913-16).

Among his popular inspirational writings is the Christmas story The Other Wise Man (1896). As President Wilson's ambassador to the Netherlands from 1913, Van Dyke was a first-hand witness to the outbreak of World War I and its progress, and was a key player in the President's diplomatic efforts to keep the U.S. out of the conflict.

Not to be confused with his father, Henry J. Van Dyke (1822-1891).

For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/van-dyke...

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got a lovely copy of this book years ago and just now read it. It also happens that I am the first person to read the book. I know this because around 10 of the pages were still attached to each other so I carefully tore them apart. It's really a lovely book. The stories are very much reflective of the period. As an author, he does paint very vibrant and lovely pictures with his words. I especially enjoyed the first stories. "Spy Rock" is one of the more interesting stories that needed a little more body to it. It would have been better in a longer more developed format. Some of them are decidedly Christian but again, that's part of what reading was supposed to accomplish in those days-teaching a sense of morality and that being Christian and "converting" those who weren't was one of the most selfless professions. However, with some updating, a couple of the stories would make nice short films. It's a fun read with 9 short stories that would be fun to talk about and compare to today's fare. The cover alone is gorgeous and it has a lovely gilt top and the edges of the pages are all rough and lovely. It would be wonderful to see a short film on a more developed story about Saloma...

[Meowmeow1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Blue Flower, by Henry Van Dyke, is a magical, wanderlust book. It is filled with nine stories of varying length and eight beautiful prints(paintings). Even in an antique store of a thousand book, this one stood out(though I quite enjoy flowers, so that might be part of it). The pictures go beautifully with each story. Each story is an adventure, though small, that contributes to the meaning of the blue flower (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_fl...). In today's writing and life, symbols are often a lost art, this book revives one of the less known ones. Though only one story is by Henry Van Dyke himself, all showcase beautiful description that is sure to intrigue the eloquent mind. Even so, not all stories deem very exciting, but some do gain at least one sense of "the blue flower": a desire/strive for something unknown or unreachable. One story, the very first actually, did just that to me. * Its eloquent row of words drew me in: "The parents were abed and sleeping. The clock on the wall ticked loudly and lazily, as if it had time to spare. Outside the rattling windows there was a restless, whispering wind.... (Henry Van Dyke, page 3)" Here the opening scene is described and eases the reader into the story. Often in the stories the flower is described as glowing, showing its magnificent lure: "...a tall, clear-blue flower, growing beside the spring, and almost touching him with its broad, glistening leaves." This continually contributes to the magical air of every story. Even with the amazing atmosphere of the writing, this book does have its downsides. The stories sometimes start off dry and/or confusing to the modern reader(The Source is one of such stories) but often gain momentum. Another pitfall is its strange organization. The stories do not have a clear organization and appear more to be thrown together. Even with such pitfalls, I find this book to be a delectable read, one of which that ranks among my favorites.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only listened to four of the stories - The Source, The Mill, Spy Rock and The First Christmas Tree. The other stories were narrated by Librivox readers who did not appeal to me.

I found these stories enchanting. I wouldn’t consider them my usual choice of reading, as they were wordy and almost fairy tale like in nature (and I’m not a fan of fairy tales). But these stories were enchanting and beautifully written and I wish I could have listened to the other tales.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice glimpse into what children might dream.

[Fostergrants]

I purchased this book without knowing anything about the content or the author. Having just read a little bit about Henry Van Dyke, I see that he was a Presbyterian minister who gave sermons on the 'Biblical rightness of slavery' and was completely against abolition. Ugh. Gross. The cover is pretty though.

[Mary Brace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I loved "Little Rivers" By Henry Van Dyke, this book fell short. This is a collection of short stories clearly written by a minister in efforts to illustrate his faith. I found the stories too fantastical and unconvincing.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of lovely short stories, ranging from somewhat didactic but dramatic historical fiction to some magical stories that are dreamier, more difficult, but also more rewarding. This book is a hidden gem, and worth seeking out.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes

[Jan Yarnot · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite is still the story I’d already read, The Other Wise Man.

[Marjorie Towers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of 9 short stories. Great Christian themes. Would have liked to see the Blue Flower carried through in all 9.

[meheadhurts · Rating 5 out of 5]

August Readathon 2025 Mega Challenges #5 Book Survivor- book lasted the longest, unread on your shelf, gathered the most dust.

This has been on my shelf over 25 years, so think that qualifies!

I had previously heard a storyteller perform The Other Wise Man, but this is the first time I have read the other stories in this collection. I may have to revisit this book again, although some of the metaphor was a bit obvious, as in "Handful of Clay", the stories were still beautifully written.

From The Other Wise Man:

"Should he risk the great reward to his faith for the sake of a single deed of charity? Should he turn aside, if only for a moment, from the following of the star, to give a cup of cold water to a poor, perishing Hebrew?"

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

It starts with a neat binding device, the image of the Blue Flower that works into each unrelated or barely related story as part of an extended allegory or metaphor representing happiness or the pursuit thereof. I've seen something similar (with very different meaning) in The King in Yellow stories by Robert W. Chambers, and the image of the Black Priest in certain other stories also by Chambers.

It's used somewhat pretentiously, especially when considering its heavy-handed preface, and the execution lacks: the stories make very obvious statements and frequently seem to be little more than scaffolding for van Dyke's lush prose.

The stories in the back of the book, "The Other Wise Man" and so forth, have a separate copyright and apparent pre-exist the rest. They don't have this device, but in compensation are better written and better plotted.

[Surreysmum · Rating 2 out of 5]

[These notes were made in 1986:]. A series of short stories in the Christian vein, some of them openly so, some allegorical. A nice way with an image and a smooth, easy style make them less tedious than you would think, and "The Other Wise Man" has something of the simple, telling fairy-tale quality of Wilde's moral tales or the one about St. Julian (Flaubert?). The title comes from a fragment of Novalis, which Van Dyke translates for us, dealing with a young man who seeks and eventually finds a mysterious blue flower. Van Dyke clearly takes this as allegory of man's search for God, and all his stories deal with wanderers and travellers on mystic searches, some failed, some successful. Margaret Armstrong's cover, by the way, is rather elegant, and it is so nice to read a real book, on good paper, printed with care, and accompanied by illustrations!

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally don't read collections of stories, I prefer novels.
But, this book was written by a Dutchman, so I had to check it out. It was worth reading, if you read regularly. Refreshing to read about true happiness being more about what you can do for others, and finding the source of life, rather than being all about personal pleasure.

[Petalbooks]

My copy arrived this week. I have several 100-year old copies stowed safely, but you can't read those on the commute. This new, all brand new, will be sturdy and stand up to being knocked around in a rucksack.

[Diana-Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting allegorical tale....

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very hard read. Skipped back and forth between centuries.

[Anna Wadlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of my favorites. Took alot for me to finish it.

[Daphne Self · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most amazing book. The allegory of Jesus and the many people who believe and search for Him was written in a believable and wonderful way.
Truly a book that any one should read.

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, includes The Other Wiseman.

[Jonathon Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a first edition Scribner's Press 1902.

[Jessica Harwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical, engulfing, and imaginative.