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The Peacable Kingdom
This novel is the story of the passionate, flesh-and-blood men and women who began the Quaker movement in England in the 17th century and of those who settled in Philadelphia 100 years later.
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1971
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March 4, 2026
I read this book in the early 1990s, when I was new to Friends. The author was a member of my Quaker meeting and gave a series of talks about the trilogy, of which this is the first volume. He was a charming man, a wonderful story teller, led a fascinating life and had written 3 lively books that folks seemed to enjoy. What's not to like?
Well, just the fact that, at the time that his trilogy came out, a lot of Quakers seemed to read his novels and nothing else by or about early Friends. The memories have faded now, but it seemed like people took the books as history. At first I had no way of knowing which events or characterizations were true and which made up or fillied in by Dehartog. I have a hard enough time remembering actual facts, and after awhile the made-up parts just blend in and seem equally true. Fortunately I did a LOT more reading afterward, of actual early Friends, so now I can barely remember de Hartog's romanticized version...
I do my Goodreads ratings according to how "good" the book is/was for me personally - and I'd give this one a pass, unless I was trying to research changing PERCEPTIONS of Friends, popular impressions. Certainly not to learn about actual early Friends.
Well, just the fact that, at the time that his trilogy came out, a lot of Quakers seemed to read his novels and nothing else by or about early Friends. The memories have faded now, but it seemed like people took the books as history. At first I had no way of knowing which events or characterizations were true and which made up or fillied in by Dehartog. I have a hard enough time remembering actual facts, and after awhile the made-up parts just blend in and seem equally true. Fortunately I did a LOT more reading afterward, of actual early Friends, so now I can barely remember de Hartog's romanticized version...
I do my Goodreads ratings according to how "good" the book is/was for me personally - and I'd give this one a pass, unless I was trying to research changing PERCEPTIONS of Friends, popular impressions. Certainly not to learn about actual early Friends.
Displaying 1 of 1 review