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The Cross on the Drum
A strange young man, Barry Clinton. Unlike most young missionaries, who came to the island to save souls, this one had come with a belligerent skepticism and a driving determination to battle sickness and starvation.
He had come to the Ile du Vent with a Bible and a few meager medical supplies- ready to make the little Caribbean island a better place in which to live.
The Cross on the Drum is the story of the strange friendship of Barry Clinton and Catus Laroche - high priest of vodun, the savage, ritualistic religion which no white man had ever dared defy. It tells of the tormented, embittered passions of the other islanders - white and black - and how they undermined the bond between these two men, changing their mutual respect into brooding, vengeful hatred, and turning the island's drowsy, sunlit tranquility into a feverish, drum-pounding battleground.
Hugh B. Cave, whose knowledge and deep understanding of life and customs in the West Indies distinguished his earlier works, Haiti: Highroad to Adventure and Drums of Revolt, has written here an explosive, dramatic novel of Christianity and voodoo on a Caribbean island.
He had come to the Ile du Vent with a Bible and a few meager medical supplies- ready to make the little Caribbean island a better place in which to live.
The Cross on the Drum is the story of the strange friendship of Barry Clinton and Catus Laroche - high priest of vodun, the savage, ritualistic religion which no white man had ever dared defy. It tells of the tormented, embittered passions of the other islanders - white and black - and how they undermined the bond between these two men, changing their mutual respect into brooding, vengeful hatred, and turning the island's drowsy, sunlit tranquility into a feverish, drum-pounding battleground.
Hugh B. Cave, whose knowledge and deep understanding of life and customs in the West Indies distinguished his earlier works, Haiti: Highroad to Adventure and Drums of Revolt, has written here an explosive, dramatic novel of Christianity and voodoo on a Caribbean island.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1958
27 people want to read
About the author
Hugh B. Cave
245 books34 followersHugh Barnett Cave was a prolific writer of pulp fiction who also excelled in other genres.
Sources differ as to when Cave sold his first story: some say it was while he still attended Brookline High School, others cite "Island Ordeal", written at age 19 in 1929 while still working for the vanity press.
In his early career he contributed to such pulp magazines as Astounding, Black Mask, and Weird Tales. By his own estimate, in the 1930s alone, he published roughly 800 short stories in nearly 100 periodicals under a number of pseudonyms. Of particular interest during this time was his series featuring an independent gentleman of courageous action and questionable morals called simply The Eel. These adventures appeared in the late 1930s and early 40s under the pen name Justin Case. Cave was also one of the most successful contributors to the weird menace or "shudder pulps" of the 1930s.
In 1943, drawing on his experience as a war reporter, he authored one of his most highly regarded novels, Long Were the Nights, telling of the first PT boats at Guadalcanal. He also wrote a number of other books on the war in the Pacific during this period.
During his post-war sojourn in Haiti, he became so familiar with the religion of Voodoo that he published Haiti: High Road to Adventure, a nonfiction work critically acclaimed as the "best report on voodoo in English." His Caribbean experiences led to his best-selling Voodoo-themed novel, The Cross On The Drum (1959), an interracial story in which a white Christian missionary falls in love with a black Voodoo priest's sister.
During this midpoint in his career Cave advanced his writing to the "slick" magazines, including Collier's, Family Circle, Ladies' Home Journal, Redbook, and the Saturday Evening Post. It was in this latter publication, in 1959, that "The Mission," his most popular short story, appeared—subsequently issued in hardcover by Doubleday, reprinted in textbooks, and translated into a number of languages.
But his career took a dip in the early 1970s. According to The Guardian, with the golden era of pulp fiction now in the past, Cave's "only regular market was writing romance for women's magazines." He was rediscovered, however, by Karl Edward Wagner, who published Murgunstrumm and Others, a horror story collection that won Cave the 1978 World Fantasy Award. Other collections followed and Cave also published new horror fiction.
His later career included the publication in the late 1970s and early 1980s of four successful fantasy novels: Legion of the Dead (1979), The Nebulon Horror (1980), The Evil (1981), and Shades of Evil (1982). Two other notable late works are Lucifer's Eye (1991) and The Mountains of Madness (2004). Moreover, Cave took naturally to the Internet, championing the e-book to such an extent that electronic versions of his stories can readily be purchased online.
Over his entire career he wrote more than 1,000 short stories in nearly all genres (though he is best remembered for his horror and crime pieces), approximately forty novels, and a notable body of nonfiction. He received the Phoenix Award as well as lifetime achievement awards from the International Horror Guild, the Horror Writers Association, and the World Fantasy Convention. (From Wikipedia.)
Used the pseudonyms John Starr and Justin Case
Sources differ as to when Cave sold his first story: some say it was while he still attended Brookline High School, others cite "Island Ordeal", written at age 19 in 1929 while still working for the vanity press.
In his early career he contributed to such pulp magazines as Astounding, Black Mask, and Weird Tales. By his own estimate, in the 1930s alone, he published roughly 800 short stories in nearly 100 periodicals under a number of pseudonyms. Of particular interest during this time was his series featuring an independent gentleman of courageous action and questionable morals called simply The Eel. These adventures appeared in the late 1930s and early 40s under the pen name Justin Case. Cave was also one of the most successful contributors to the weird menace or "shudder pulps" of the 1930s.
In 1943, drawing on his experience as a war reporter, he authored one of his most highly regarded novels, Long Were the Nights, telling of the first PT boats at Guadalcanal. He also wrote a number of other books on the war in the Pacific during this period.
During his post-war sojourn in Haiti, he became so familiar with the religion of Voodoo that he published Haiti: High Road to Adventure, a nonfiction work critically acclaimed as the "best report on voodoo in English." His Caribbean experiences led to his best-selling Voodoo-themed novel, The Cross On The Drum (1959), an interracial story in which a white Christian missionary falls in love with a black Voodoo priest's sister.
During this midpoint in his career Cave advanced his writing to the "slick" magazines, including Collier's, Family Circle, Ladies' Home Journal, Redbook, and the Saturday Evening Post. It was in this latter publication, in 1959, that "The Mission," his most popular short story, appeared—subsequently issued in hardcover by Doubleday, reprinted in textbooks, and translated into a number of languages.
But his career took a dip in the early 1970s. According to The Guardian, with the golden era of pulp fiction now in the past, Cave's "only regular market was writing romance for women's magazines." He was rediscovered, however, by Karl Edward Wagner, who published Murgunstrumm and Others, a horror story collection that won Cave the 1978 World Fantasy Award. Other collections followed and Cave also published new horror fiction.
His later career included the publication in the late 1970s and early 1980s of four successful fantasy novels: Legion of the Dead (1979), The Nebulon Horror (1980), The Evil (1981), and Shades of Evil (1982). Two other notable late works are Lucifer's Eye (1991) and The Mountains of Madness (2004). Moreover, Cave took naturally to the Internet, championing the e-book to such an extent that electronic versions of his stories can readily be purchased online.
Over his entire career he wrote more than 1,000 short stories in nearly all genres (though he is best remembered for his horror and crime pieces), approximately forty novels, and a notable body of nonfiction. He received the Phoenix Award as well as lifetime achievement awards from the International Horror Guild, the Horror Writers Association, and the World Fantasy Convention. (From Wikipedia.)
Used the pseudonyms John Starr and Justin Case
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 17, 2013
This is my first book review here. I’m not a professional book reviewer, or even an author, just someone who’s read both a lot of pulp fiction and literary works for the sake of literature as art. I’m currently expanding myself, or “broadening my horizons”.
This was my take on the book.
I’ve had the recent good fortune to have been handed down some old books. “The Cross on the Drum” by Hugh B. Cave is not the oldest, but it’s set in the Caribbean and I thought that might make it interesting.
The title leads one to believe it’s either a western, or has something to do with pirates, but the only truth close to either of those misleads is that it is set on an island a mere mile from the coast of Haiti.
The protagonist is a young Episcopalian priest, who has been assigned to be the new missionary on the island because his predecessor has given up trying to convert the inhabitants who practice voodoo, or as it’s referred to in the book, vodun. Most of the main characters are established early in the book, though sketchily. The conflict in the book, between the priest and the Houngan, or voodoo priest is established early though that too is done vaguely. The book has a number of fluid changing relationships, and conflicts between the main characters, similar to the relationship between the priest and the islanders.
The book was published in 1958, which is slightly before the climax of the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr’s march on Washington, but after Brown vs. the Board of Education…and the Rosa Parks buss incident and boycott. Some of the language in the book is therefore cemented in the time it was published, and it was written with current events in mind. The book’s primary theme is racial divide, which is illuminated by the difference in religion. For the most part it’s just an interesting story of a young priest trying to establish himself, and reach out to people he wishes to bring in to his congregation.
I found the book entertaining and interesting, but not a compelling read. I would recommend it to readers who are interested in the history of that time, as it sheds light on how many people thought, and how disconnected the world was then. I might also recommend it to people living in northern climates that are weather bound, as the setting is basically an escape from the ice and snow of winter.
The book was intended for adults, so there are adult conflicts and activities and behaviors.
This was my take on the book.
I’ve had the recent good fortune to have been handed down some old books. “The Cross on the Drum” by Hugh B. Cave is not the oldest, but it’s set in the Caribbean and I thought that might make it interesting.
The title leads one to believe it’s either a western, or has something to do with pirates, but the only truth close to either of those misleads is that it is set on an island a mere mile from the coast of Haiti.
The protagonist is a young Episcopalian priest, who has been assigned to be the new missionary on the island because his predecessor has given up trying to convert the inhabitants who practice voodoo, or as it’s referred to in the book, vodun. Most of the main characters are established early in the book, though sketchily. The conflict in the book, between the priest and the Houngan, or voodoo priest is established early though that too is done vaguely. The book has a number of fluid changing relationships, and conflicts between the main characters, similar to the relationship between the priest and the islanders.
The book was published in 1958, which is slightly before the climax of the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr’s march on Washington, but after Brown vs. the Board of Education…and the Rosa Parks buss incident and boycott. Some of the language in the book is therefore cemented in the time it was published, and it was written with current events in mind. The book’s primary theme is racial divide, which is illuminated by the difference in religion. For the most part it’s just an interesting story of a young priest trying to establish himself, and reach out to people he wishes to bring in to his congregation.
I found the book entertaining and interesting, but not a compelling read. I would recommend it to readers who are interested in the history of that time, as it sheds light on how many people thought, and how disconnected the world was then. I might also recommend it to people living in northern climates that are weather bound, as the setting is basically an escape from the ice and snow of winter.
The book was intended for adults, so there are adult conflicts and activities and behaviors.
July 19, 2013
3½ stars. I found that after a somewhat slow start, this tale of a white Episcopalian missionary on a small island off the coast of Haiti became engrossing. The interweaving of religious tensions with the social and cultural differences was well done. I did find the ending a tad too neat and tidy.
The narration of Kevin Pierce was good, although a little on the slow side (I ended up listening at 2x speed), and I especially liked the light accents used for the native Haitians.
The narration of Kevin Pierce was good, although a little on the slow side (I ended up listening at 2x speed), and I especially liked the light accents used for the native Haitians.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews