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Tender Victory
The story of the Reverend John Fletcher, who adopts 5 war orphans after WWII and takes them to a small coal mining town in America to live.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1956
874 people are currently reading
760 people want to read
About the author
Taylor Caldwell
152 books558 followers Also known by the pen names Marcus Holland and Max Reiner.
Taylor Caldwell was born in Manchester, England. In 1907 she emigrated to the United States with her parents and younger brother. Her father died shortly after the move, and the family struggled. At the age of eight she started to write stories, and in fact wrote her first novel, The Romance of Atlantis, at the age of twelve (although it remained unpublished until 1975). Her father did not approve such activity for women, and sent her to work in a bindery. She continued to write prolifically, however, despite ill health. (In 1947, according to TIME magazine, she discarded and burned the manuscripts of 140 unpublished novels.)
In 1918-1919, she served in the United States Navy Reserve. In 1919 she married William F. Combs. In 1920, they had a daughter, Mary (known as "Peggy"). From 1923 to 1924 she was a court reporter in New York State Department of Labor in Buffalo, New York. In 1924, she went to work for the United States Department of Justice, as a member of the Board of Special Inquiry (an immigration tribunal) in Buffalo. In 1931 she graduated from SUNY Buffalo, and also was divorced from William Combs.
Caldwell then married her second husband, Marcus Reback, a fellow Justice employee. She had a second child with Reback, a daughter Judith, in 1932. They were married for 40 years, until his death in 1971.
In 1934, she began to work on the novel Dynasty of Death, which she and Reback completed in collaboration. It was published in 1938 and became a best-seller. "Taylor Caldwell" was presumed to be a man, and there was some public stir when the author was revealed to be a woman. Over the next 43 years, she published 42 more novels, many of them best-sellers. For instance, This Side of Innocence was the biggest fiction seller of 1946. Her works sold an estimated 30 million copies. She became wealthy, traveling to Europe and elsewhere, though she still lived near Buffalo.
Her books were big sellers right up to the end of her career. During her career as a writer, she received several awards.
She was an outspoken conservative and for a time wrote for the John Birch Society's monthly journal American Opinion and even associated with the anti-Semitic Liberty Lobby. Her memoir, On Growing Up Tough, appeared in 1971, consisting of many edited-down articles from American Opinion.
Around 1970, she became interested in reincarnation. She had become friends with well-known occultist author Jess Stearn, who suggested that the vivid detail in her many historical novels was actually subconscious recollection of previous lives. Supposedly, she agreed to be hypnotized and undergo "past-life regression" to disprove reincarnation. According to Stearn's book, The Search of a Soul - Taylor Caldwell's Psychic Lives, Caldwell instead began to recall her own past lives - eleven in all, including one on the "lost continent" of Lemuria.
In 1972, she married William Everett Stancell, a retired real estate developer, but divorced him in 1973. In 1978, she married William Robert Prestie, an eccentric Canadian 17 years her junior. This led to difficulties with her children. She had a long dispute with her daughter Judith over the estate of Judith's father Marcus; in 1979 Judith committed suicide.
Also in 1979, Caldwell suffered a stroke, which left her unable to speak, though she could still write. (She had been deaf since about 1965.) Her daughter Peggy accused Prestie of abusing and exploiting Caldwell, and there was a legal battle over her substantial assets.
She died of heart failure in Greenwich, Conn
Taylor Caldwell was born in Manchester, England. In 1907 she emigrated to the United States with her parents and younger brother. Her father died shortly after the move, and the family struggled. At the age of eight she started to write stories, and in fact wrote her first novel, The Romance of Atlantis, at the age of twelve (although it remained unpublished until 1975). Her father did not approve such activity for women, and sent her to work in a bindery. She continued to write prolifically, however, despite ill health. (In 1947, according to TIME magazine, she discarded and burned the manuscripts of 140 unpublished novels.)
In 1918-1919, she served in the United States Navy Reserve. In 1919 she married William F. Combs. In 1920, they had a daughter, Mary (known as "Peggy"). From 1923 to 1924 she was a court reporter in New York State Department of Labor in Buffalo, New York. In 1924, she went to work for the United States Department of Justice, as a member of the Board of Special Inquiry (an immigration tribunal) in Buffalo. In 1931 she graduated from SUNY Buffalo, and also was divorced from William Combs.
Caldwell then married her second husband, Marcus Reback, a fellow Justice employee. She had a second child with Reback, a daughter Judith, in 1932. They were married for 40 years, until his death in 1971.
In 1934, she began to work on the novel Dynasty of Death, which she and Reback completed in collaboration. It was published in 1938 and became a best-seller. "Taylor Caldwell" was presumed to be a man, and there was some public stir when the author was revealed to be a woman. Over the next 43 years, she published 42 more novels, many of them best-sellers. For instance, This Side of Innocence was the biggest fiction seller of 1946. Her works sold an estimated 30 million copies. She became wealthy, traveling to Europe and elsewhere, though she still lived near Buffalo.
Her books were big sellers right up to the end of her career. During her career as a writer, she received several awards.
She was an outspoken conservative and for a time wrote for the John Birch Society's monthly journal American Opinion and even associated with the anti-Semitic Liberty Lobby. Her memoir, On Growing Up Tough, appeared in 1971, consisting of many edited-down articles from American Opinion.
Around 1970, she became interested in reincarnation. She had become friends with well-known occultist author Jess Stearn, who suggested that the vivid detail in her many historical novels was actually subconscious recollection of previous lives. Supposedly, she agreed to be hypnotized and undergo "past-life regression" to disprove reincarnation. According to Stearn's book, The Search of a Soul - Taylor Caldwell's Psychic Lives, Caldwell instead began to recall her own past lives - eleven in all, including one on the "lost continent" of Lemuria.
In 1972, she married William Everett Stancell, a retired real estate developer, but divorced him in 1973. In 1978, she married William Robert Prestie, an eccentric Canadian 17 years her junior. This led to difficulties with her children. She had a long dispute with her daughter Judith over the estate of Judith's father Marcus; in 1979 Judith committed suicide.
Also in 1979, Caldwell suffered a stroke, which left her unable to speak, though she could still write. (She had been deaf since about 1965.) Her daughter Peggy accused Prestie of abusing and exploiting Caldwell, and there was a legal battle over her substantial assets.
She died of heart failure in Greenwich, Conn
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
September 24, 2020
Why is this wonderful book not read more often?
A Protestant Minister adopts a group of five orphans,after going through miles of red tape in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Jean, Max, Pietro, Kathy and Emily have faced the ravages of the Second World War, orphans from different parts of Europe banded together, scavenging food, living like wild animals in an old abandoned house.
The Pastor rescues them from a mob about to lynch them.
In America, he thinks there will be more tolerance. Of course things are not much better, especially when someone slashes Max's throat.
Yes, there is intolerance everywhere, the group of orphans survives with the help of the Doctor and the Housekeeper and so many others, ordinary people living in little towns going about their daily lives but with great big warm hearts ready to love a group of strange abandoned children.
The book is filled with tremendous love, laughter, sadness, compassion, all tiny things which make life interesting and worth living.
Christmas, planting trees in their first garden, new clothes and new shoes.
The Doctor's and the Housekeeper's battles are like warm bread straight from the oven.
The orphans battle to live life once again, forgetting their terrible past and the families they once belonged to.
Not once do these orphans look back to a time when they all had families. If they do remember those times, we never know, they do not tell us, but they forge ahead.
Such bravery and determination!
Strangely in my determination to read more about the aftermath of the World War II, I stumbled upon a harrowing article about the Wolf Children. There were thousands of orphans roaming the woods of Germany. They came from the Russian side, East Germany. They had no papers, of course no family, no food and no shelter. They were driven from place to place, sometimes they were helped sometimes not. They foraged for food, begged, stole whatever or whenever they could. The pastor made a home for these children.
A peek into their lives @https://www.dw.com/en/german-wolf-chi...
A Protestant Minister adopts a group of five orphans,after going through miles of red tape in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Jean, Max, Pietro, Kathy and Emily have faced the ravages of the Second World War, orphans from different parts of Europe banded together, scavenging food, living like wild animals in an old abandoned house.
The Pastor rescues them from a mob about to lynch them.
In America, he thinks there will be more tolerance. Of course things are not much better, especially when someone slashes Max's throat.
Yes, there is intolerance everywhere, the group of orphans survives with the help of the Doctor and the Housekeeper and so many others, ordinary people living in little towns going about their daily lives but with great big warm hearts ready to love a group of strange abandoned children.
The book is filled with tremendous love, laughter, sadness, compassion, all tiny things which make life interesting and worth living.
Christmas, planting trees in their first garden, new clothes and new shoes.
The Doctor's and the Housekeeper's battles are like warm bread straight from the oven.
The orphans battle to live life once again, forgetting their terrible past and the families they once belonged to.
Not once do these orphans look back to a time when they all had families. If they do remember those times, we never know, they do not tell us, but they forge ahead.
Such bravery and determination!
Strangely in my determination to read more about the aftermath of the World War II, I stumbled upon a harrowing article about the Wolf Children. There were thousands of orphans roaming the woods of Germany. They came from the Russian side, East Germany. They had no papers, of course no family, no food and no shelter. They were driven from place to place, sometimes they were helped sometimes not. They foraged for food, begged, stole whatever or whenever they could. The pastor made a home for these children.
A peek into their lives @https://www.dw.com/en/german-wolf-chi...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2020
This book completely surprised me! I felt like she could have written this book in 2020. Some of the things she said were so relevant to our time today. Powerful.
February 6, 2018
First sentence: When matters, events, or people bored or exhausted or troubled Dr. Francis Stevens, he would retire mentally to a pleasant place where he could reflect on the fact that he so closely resembled Francis Cardinal Spellman that it had become an affectionate joke between him and his friend.
Premise/plot: Johnny Fletcher, the hero, is a young military chaplain returning to the States from Europe. He's bringing with him five orphaned children. His friend, Dr. Stevens, has arranged a job for him. He'll be a minister in a small mining town, Barryfield. But adjusting to a "normal" life after the war is tougher than he ever imagined. Both for him and his children. In part because he is determined to raise two of his children as Catholics, two as Protestants, and one Jewish. Fortunately, Barryfield has a Catholic church, a synagogue, and his own Protestant church where he'll be ministering. Unfortunately, Barryfield's residents--except for three or four people--have a mob mentality and are easily upset and ready to explode in outright violence at the drop of a hat. They also are a strong hold of Communists.
My thoughts: Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote, "The pen is mightier than the sword." The pen--or more likely typewriter--becomes a machine gun in the hands of Taylor Caldwell. Books should never be this poorly written.
Literary issues. The book is not character-driven. It is not plot-driven. It is not even premise-driven. It is driven by ideas or anti-ideas. The book is just as much about what it is FOR as what it is AGAINST. The characters do not exist in their own right but exist merely for being the voices of various ideological ideas or positions. Which leads to the problem I have with the dialogue. I feel like the dialogue is essentially a tool, a hammer. Every single page, the dialogue is hammering something. Every single time a character opens his or her mouth, it's to hammer down an idea for the readers. The dialogue doesn't come across as natural because every word is an opportunity to preach a message.
Content issues. This book about a minister has a lot of curse words, which may or may not be offensive to the average reader. (Depending on the word and how often it is used--that is my standard.) This one has blasphemy. If the characters weren't supposed to be Christian, if so much of this one didn't take place in the church or in the church parsonage, if this was your typical, modern book--I wouldn't be surprised or taken aback by that.
Theological issues. So the main point of this book seems to be singing the praises of tolerance. All religions lead to the same God; there are many roads, many paths, many ways to finding God. No matter what name you call him, God is God. The content of what you believe doesn't matter so long as you're sincere. One religion is not "better" than the other. One is not "more true" or "less true." Even when the religions disagree with each other unmistakably--they all lead to God in the end, and all is well. It's best to let people come to their own knowledge and understand of who God is. He's there to inspire love and kindness here on earth. If John Lennon's Imagine had been a single, I bet Johnny Fletcher would have gone around singing it day and night, night day.
The extremes irritated me. It seemed there were only two options of thinking in the novel. If you don't agree with Fletcher on whatever issue has come up, then you are the ENEMY with rocks ready to throw, knives ready to stab, matches ready to burn. And there are many issues in this one. For example, the environment, unions, communism, nuclear programs, education, religion, politics, etc.
The low point of this one--and I mention it on purpose--is when the parsonage is BURNED DOWN on Christmas Eve with everyone still inside. It's one thing for the presents to go up in flames and be lost. It's quite another to introduce a new puppy for the children a chapter before and kill off the dog. Oh. His dying from congenital heart problems daughter also dies within a day or two because of the shock and trauma of the fire.
There are moments when Fletcher says something I agree with. A broken clock, a stopped clock, is right at least twice a day.
Premise/plot: Johnny Fletcher, the hero, is a young military chaplain returning to the States from Europe. He's bringing with him five orphaned children. His friend, Dr. Stevens, has arranged a job for him. He'll be a minister in a small mining town, Barryfield. But adjusting to a "normal" life after the war is tougher than he ever imagined. Both for him and his children. In part because he is determined to raise two of his children as Catholics, two as Protestants, and one Jewish. Fortunately, Barryfield has a Catholic church, a synagogue, and his own Protestant church where he'll be ministering. Unfortunately, Barryfield's residents--except for three or four people--have a mob mentality and are easily upset and ready to explode in outright violence at the drop of a hat. They also are a strong hold of Communists.
My thoughts: Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote, "The pen is mightier than the sword." The pen--or more likely typewriter--becomes a machine gun in the hands of Taylor Caldwell. Books should never be this poorly written.
Literary issues. The book is not character-driven. It is not plot-driven. It is not even premise-driven. It is driven by ideas or anti-ideas. The book is just as much about what it is FOR as what it is AGAINST. The characters do not exist in their own right but exist merely for being the voices of various ideological ideas or positions. Which leads to the problem I have with the dialogue. I feel like the dialogue is essentially a tool, a hammer. Every single page, the dialogue is hammering something. Every single time a character opens his or her mouth, it's to hammer down an idea for the readers. The dialogue doesn't come across as natural because every word is an opportunity to preach a message.
Content issues. This book about a minister has a lot of curse words, which may or may not be offensive to the average reader. (Depending on the word and how often it is used--that is my standard.) This one has blasphemy. If the characters weren't supposed to be Christian, if so much of this one didn't take place in the church or in the church parsonage, if this was your typical, modern book--I wouldn't be surprised or taken aback by that.
Theological issues. So the main point of this book seems to be singing the praises of tolerance. All religions lead to the same God; there are many roads, many paths, many ways to finding God. No matter what name you call him, God is God. The content of what you believe doesn't matter so long as you're sincere. One religion is not "better" than the other. One is not "more true" or "less true." Even when the religions disagree with each other unmistakably--they all lead to God in the end, and all is well. It's best to let people come to their own knowledge and understand of who God is. He's there to inspire love and kindness here on earth. If John Lennon's Imagine had been a single, I bet Johnny Fletcher would have gone around singing it day and night, night day.
The extremes irritated me. It seemed there were only two options of thinking in the novel. If you don't agree with Fletcher on whatever issue has come up, then you are the ENEMY with rocks ready to throw, knives ready to stab, matches ready to burn. And there are many issues in this one. For example, the environment, unions, communism, nuclear programs, education, religion, politics, etc.
The low point of this one--and I mention it on purpose--is when the parsonage is BURNED DOWN on Christmas Eve with everyone still inside. It's one thing for the presents to go up in flames and be lost. It's quite another to introduce a new puppy for the children a chapter before and kill off the dog. Oh. His dying from congenital heart problems daughter also dies within a day or two because of the shock and trauma of the fire.
There are moments when Fletcher says something I agree with. A broken clock, a stopped clock, is right at least twice a day.
September 9, 2015
What happens when a Protestant minister adopts 5 children coming from the Holocaust and decides to live with them at a small mining town in America?
If you want to know, just read this book. Or not.
4* The Arm and the Darkness
5* A Pillar of Iron
4* Dear and Glorious Physician
4* The Earth Is the Lord's: A Tale of the Rise of Genghis Khan
4* The Final Hour
5* Captains And The Kings
2* The Romance of Atlantis
3* The Late Clara Beame
3* Ceremony of the Innocent
4* Answer as a Man
1* The Listener
2* A Tender Victory
TR Dynasty Of Death (The Eagles Gather, The Final Hour)
TR The Wide House
TR Testimony of Two Men
TR This Side of Innocence
TR Glory and the Lightning
TR Never Victorious, Never Defeated
TR Wicked Angel
If you want to know, just read this book. Or not.
4* The Arm and the Darkness
5* A Pillar of Iron
4* Dear and Glorious Physician
4* The Earth Is the Lord's: A Tale of the Rise of Genghis Khan
4* The Final Hour
5* Captains And The Kings
2* The Romance of Atlantis
3* The Late Clara Beame
3* Ceremony of the Innocent
4* Answer as a Man
1* The Listener
2* A Tender Victory
TR Dynasty Of Death (The Eagles Gather, The Final Hour)
TR The Wide House
TR Testimony of Two Men
TR This Side of Innocence
TR Glory and the Lightning
TR Never Victorious, Never Defeated
TR Wicked Angel
July 19, 2017
A Protestant minister is a chaplain in war torn Europe. He rescues five starving and traumatised orphans from the many scrabbling for survival in Germany and brings them home to America with him. He is deeply disturbed to find that his first parish will not accept his children and moves to a much poorer town to take up a ministry. Part of the difficulty his parishioners have is his insistance that the children should be brought up in the faith of their original families. The concept that all faith paths lead to the deity was pretty radical for its day.
This book is strongly a product of its time and place (mid 20th Century and middle class white America) but is still worth reading. It even has something of a critique of it's own society to a degree. If you are going to critique your way through it though, you are probably not going to enjoy it.
It's a great story and very engaging but make sure you have the tissues.
This book is strongly a product of its time and place (mid 20th Century and middle class white America) but is still worth reading. It even has something of a critique of it's own society to a degree. If you are going to critique your way through it though, you are probably not going to enjoy it.
It's a great story and very engaging but make sure you have the tissues.
September 20, 2019
Dated and yet relevant, improbable yet engaging. Some beautifully written passages about living a life of faith in a broken world.
August 12, 2024
This was my Moms favorite book. She gave it to me many years ago and I have read it often through the years. It remains my favorite as well, not only because of mom, but because of its beautiful message of love and hope and faith. It is an unabashedly Christian novel, yet written in 1956, the author recognizes the essential evil of tyrants who espouse peace and equality for all but whose true motivation is power and chaos. Just like today.
“Unto you, this night, a King has been born. A King of love and mercy and salvation and understanding, a King who will bind up your wounds and touch your blind eyes and take away your hatreds and your sorrows and comfort you, and who asks only of you, in accents of eternal love and compassion: Follow Me”
My cup runneth over!
“Unto you, this night, a King has been born. A King of love and mercy and salvation and understanding, a King who will bind up your wounds and touch your blind eyes and take away your hatreds and your sorrows and comfort you, and who asks only of you, in accents of eternal love and compassion: Follow Me”
My cup runneth over!
November 1, 2019
Maybe the worst I've read
I thought this book was terrible. Poorly written - too many gaps where the reader had to guess what happened. The description of the book is terribly misleading. I don't give up on books, which is the only reason I slogged through this story to the end. I really don't know where to begin to describe this train wreck. The main character, a minister, has a huge God- complex. The plot is incoherent. Conflicts arise with no apparent reason. Plotlines end with no resolution. Based on this book only, I'm shocked by the esteem the author received. Pass on this book.
I thought this book was terrible. Poorly written - too many gaps where the reader had to guess what happened. The description of the book is terribly misleading. I don't give up on books, which is the only reason I slogged through this story to the end. I really don't know where to begin to describe this train wreck. The main character, a minister, has a huge God- complex. The plot is incoherent. Conflicts arise with no apparent reason. Plotlines end with no resolution. Based on this book only, I'm shocked by the esteem the author received. Pass on this book.
August 20, 2017
written in 1956 but just as fresh and applicable now as then, with exception of some Communist ranting, otherwise the anti immigrant dialogue could have come right out of the Trump playbook
January 24, 2020
This novel does not stand the test of time. Its tone is maudlin and over the top in calamities. I read it because of Taylor Caldwell’s reputation. The blurb promised a story of rescued war orphans from concentration camps. I was intrigued with seeing how such a plot line was handled in the 1950’s so close to WWII. Unfortunately the children were stereotypes, as were most of the other characters. The preachy tone and the overwhelming number of calamities that affected the characters made for a disappointing read.
October 25, 2016
Loved the book and as always Taylor Caldwell's writing. While religious it relates historically to the times and attitudes of the US after WWII. The story of one man leading to right wrongs while trying to assimilate his 5 war orphans to America.
May 6, 2008
A Protestant minister adopts five children from Europe after WWII and tries to help them assimilate into his community.
March 8, 2021
It had been years since I’d read anything by Taylor Caldwell (1900 - 1985). Reading Tender Victory brought me back to my past admiration for this author.
Tender Victory, a novel first published in 1956, is about a former military chaplain, Reverend Johnny Fletcher, who served in Europe during World War II. It is now 1946 and Reverend Fletcher is seeking to pastor a church. He meets with resistance when members of prospective churches learn he has brought back from Europe five orphan children. The children, two Protestants, two Catholic, and one Jew, not only can’t speak English, they have been so traumatized by the horrors inflected upon them that they appear to be like wild animals.
Reverend Fletcher accepts a position in the small mining town of Barrymore, PA. He immediately finds friends and supporters, but many in the town are against him, not only because of his children, but they fear he will be instrumental in disturbing their status-quo. As it stands, the rich who live up in the hills, are getting even richer from the mining operations, but the average citizen who lives in town on lower elevations suffers from the dirty industrial air the mines produce.
As he continues to serve, Reverend Fletcher is challenged on many counts, but he firmly believes in the goodness of man, despite obvious evidence to the contrary.
I found Tender Victory an uplifting, inspirational read rich with the timeless themes of hope, faith and compassion.
Tender Victory, a novel first published in 1956, is about a former military chaplain, Reverend Johnny Fletcher, who served in Europe during World War II. It is now 1946 and Reverend Fletcher is seeking to pastor a church. He meets with resistance when members of prospective churches learn he has brought back from Europe five orphan children. The children, two Protestants, two Catholic, and one Jew, not only can’t speak English, they have been so traumatized by the horrors inflected upon them that they appear to be like wild animals.
Reverend Fletcher accepts a position in the small mining town of Barrymore, PA. He immediately finds friends and supporters, but many in the town are against him, not only because of his children, but they fear he will be instrumental in disturbing their status-quo. As it stands, the rich who live up in the hills, are getting even richer from the mining operations, but the average citizen who lives in town on lower elevations suffers from the dirty industrial air the mines produce.
As he continues to serve, Reverend Fletcher is challenged on many counts, but he firmly believes in the goodness of man, despite obvious evidence to the contrary.
I found Tender Victory an uplifting, inspirational read rich with the timeless themes of hope, faith and compassion.
April 6, 2020
Esse livro me trouxe tantas sensações: raiva, tristeza, felicidade, esperança. Não sei. No começo, achei que a mistura de religião e história seria uma coisa que me intrigaria muito e que eu desistiria logo, porque eu amo história mas não sigo nenhuma religião. E foi justamente aí que o livro me pegou, porque foi bom passear por algumas delas, assim como deu um aperto no peito quando lia sobre os terrores da guerra, os traumas, as perdas.
A política e a forma como foi retratado Hitler, Stalin e alguns outros, foi extraordinário, também posso falar como foi muito bem colocado a responsabilidade e o poder que todos os cidadões tem ao escolherem seus líderes.
É um livro muito bem estruturado em detalhes ricos e eu pude imaginar tudo, as feições, os lugares, as crianças, e principalmente a dor. O jeito que o Sr. Fletcher carrega o amor e como acima de tudo ele tem um respeito foi algo bonito de ler. Acredito no final de tudo e saio com uma lição bonita desse livro sobre como o amor modifica tudo, e que todas as religiões deveriam entender sobre: respeito e amor. Deus é justamente isso: amor. E esse livro é repleto de um amor inexplicável e admirável.
Chorei não só uma vez, mas umas três.
É um livro comovente.
A política e a forma como foi retratado Hitler, Stalin e alguns outros, foi extraordinário, também posso falar como foi muito bem colocado a responsabilidade e o poder que todos os cidadões tem ao escolherem seus líderes.
É um livro muito bem estruturado em detalhes ricos e eu pude imaginar tudo, as feições, os lugares, as crianças, e principalmente a dor. O jeito que o Sr. Fletcher carrega o amor e como acima de tudo ele tem um respeito foi algo bonito de ler. Acredito no final de tudo e saio com uma lição bonita desse livro sobre como o amor modifica tudo, e que todas as religiões deveriam entender sobre: respeito e amor. Deus é justamente isso: amor. E esse livro é repleto de um amor inexplicável e admirável.
Chorei não só uma vez, mas umas três.
É um livro comovente.
October 12, 2020
Taylor Caldwell was a writer of such magnificence in the way she could look into a person she created in her pages and bring him or her into such rich and vivid life. I've been reading her books for years and in my teens read every book my local library had on their shelves. At that time I thought I'd read everything Ms. Caldwell had ever written. To my unending delight - there is more...lots more from this prolific writer to read and re-read again and again.
If you want to get lost in a story that is timeless, rich, colorful, poignant, touching and well told - then dive in. You will come to love Johnny Fletcher. You will rejoice with him, grieve with him, cheer for him and pray for him. He will jump out of the pages and become real to you. This is a book to savor. This story will make you feel. It will make you examine those things you are feeling.
Actually, there isn't a book written by Taylor Caldwell that isn't wonderful, textured and a mental feast. Try it...you will love it.
If you want to get lost in a story that is timeless, rich, colorful, poignant, touching and well told - then dive in. You will come to love Johnny Fletcher. You will rejoice with him, grieve with him, cheer for him and pray for him. He will jump out of the pages and become real to you. This is a book to savor. This story will make you feel. It will make you examine those things you are feeling.
Actually, there isn't a book written by Taylor Caldwell that isn't wonderful, textured and a mental feast. Try it...you will love it.
December 6, 2022
The 1956 hardback edition of this book was in my mom's collection of books that she received from her parents. Set in the immediate aftermath of WWII, it tells of a pastor who returned from chaplain duties in the war with five orphans, victims of Nazi atrocities. When his planned first posting rejects him for this reason, he's sent to minister to a small church in a coal mining village. While some might call this novel sentimental (true confession - I cried a lot), it has many very profound observations about human nature, as well as challenging truths about living as a Christian in a difficult society. Johnny realizes that his five children come from three different faith backgrounds - Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish - and he is determined to honor their history by raising them in those faiths. So this is a beautiful story about how some unlikely characters band together to bless these children, as well as an ugly story about Christians at their worst. There is additionally a thread to the story related to the spread of Communism, which is interesting. I enjoyed this book!
February 25, 2019
This started out interesting enough: an minister/chaplain returning home from war adopts five European orphan children to bring them up as a his own. As a Christian, I liked the faith message and it was inspiring how redemption was extended towards everyone. The books attack on Communism (this was published in the 1950s) was fine too and acceptable to me, but another reviewer said it reminded her of Ayn Rand and her beliefs, and that's a pretty apt comparison. The story of a man of God raising his children was lost in a war against the Communists. One evil/mentally ill newspaper editor acts as a puppet master and can move the simple-minded masses with a stroke pen, and everyone follows him blindly until the minister speaks some logic. There's a halfhearted attempt at a romance for the minister, that I just didn't buy. I can't really explain why I kept reading it, but I'm glad its over and I probably won't read any more of Caldwell's books.
January 7, 2024
A kind of liked it and hated it book.
A young priest returns from WWII with five traumatised children who are survivors of various concentration camps. He is sent to a struggling mining town where they face various calamities (too many and too often), he finds a strong friend in the second richest guy in town, an enemy of the richest guy and love with the richest guy's daughter. The children all start to adapt well and are intelligent, loyal and talented. It's all a bit much.
But the author does dissect the direction of the US, the corruption and tools of those seeking power, the deterioration of education standards, the huge increasing gulf between rich and poor and the dangers of consumerism over living a life helping others. There's more than a smattering of religious dialogue but this was expected given the author's beliefs.
A young priest returns from WWII with five traumatised children who are survivors of various concentration camps. He is sent to a struggling mining town where they face various calamities (too many and too often), he finds a strong friend in the second richest guy in town, an enemy of the richest guy and love with the richest guy's daughter. The children all start to adapt well and are intelligent, loyal and talented. It's all a bit much.
But the author does dissect the direction of the US, the corruption and tools of those seeking power, the deterioration of education standards, the huge increasing gulf between rich and poor and the dangers of consumerism over living a life helping others. There's more than a smattering of religious dialogue but this was expected given the author's beliefs.
December 13, 2023
A favorite for over fifty years.
I read this when still in high school, and reread it many times since. But,never had it hit me, as I reread it this time, that even then it was warning us about the horrors we now face. As the elitists and liberals of today are still working to reach the fulfillment of what they have worked for even in those long ago days we are so much closer to the destruction and horrors their machinations have always brought to civilizations. Perhaps we should have paid more attention back then, because they are more vicious and destructive today they they were even in this tale of evil and good fighting for mankind's very soul.
I read this when still in high school, and reread it many times since. But,never had it hit me, as I reread it this time, that even then it was warning us about the horrors we now face. As the elitists and liberals of today are still working to reach the fulfillment of what they have worked for even in those long ago days we are so much closer to the destruction and horrors their machinations have always brought to civilizations. Perhaps we should have paid more attention back then, because they are more vicious and destructive today they they were even in this tale of evil and good fighting for mankind's very soul.
March 4, 2024
a master class in novel writing!
(this is my second review of this book..): it I had to choose one writer not to emulate, it would be this one. not one point, minor or major, is ever hurried. he does she tiptoe around the seedier elements of the worlds she creates. I also believe that George Elliot was her favorite writer because their styles are so similar. I would refer you to Middle march if you want to check that out. and I can name dozens of more contemporary authors who will NEVER be able to hold a candle to this one. I wish I could award more stars. I never leave her stories dissatisfied.
(this is my second review of this book..): it I had to choose one writer not to emulate, it would be this one. not one point, minor or major, is ever hurried. he does she tiptoe around the seedier elements of the worlds she creates. I also believe that George Elliot was her favorite writer because their styles are so similar. I would refer you to Middle march if you want to check that out. and I can name dozens of more contemporary authors who will NEVER be able to hold a candle to this one. I wish I could award more stars. I never leave her stories dissatisfied.
May 24, 2019
Tender Victory es un relato que aborda el periodo de reconstrucción que siguió al término de la segunda guerra mundial en los Estados Unidos.
A través de los ojos del reverendo Fletcher, poco a poco, Taylor Caldwell va creando un personaje tan lleno de la dignidad y de la entereza que es propia de un santo.
Luego de adoptar a cinco niños huérfanos víctimas del holocausto, la historia del reverendo Fletcher trata con ternura el camino que pudiera seguirse, aun en nuestro tiempo, para reivindicar tanto al oprimido como al poseedor de un corazón olvidado en las tinieblas de la soledad.
A través de los ojos del reverendo Fletcher, poco a poco, Taylor Caldwell va creando un personaje tan lleno de la dignidad y de la entereza que es propia de un santo.
Luego de adoptar a cinco niños huérfanos víctimas del holocausto, la historia del reverendo Fletcher trata con ternura el camino que pudiera seguirse, aun en nuestro tiempo, para reivindicar tanto al oprimido como al poseedor de un corazón olvidado en las tinieblas de la soledad.
September 8, 2021
This novel is about an American minister who returns from WWII to the states with 5 orphaned Holocaust children survivors. He is sent to Barryfield to begin his ministry. The 6 people are not very well received except a shrewd & rude Dr. McMahnas who becomes his mentor and friend, a Catholic priest, and a Rabbi. The insurrections are never-ending by the owner of the Barryfield newspaper who despises the minister. If you are not into religion, you might find the book too religious or you may be inspired by the Bible passages & sermons. I love the way Calwell wrote the novel.
October 18, 2021
The title of this book should be "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished". The preacher has overwhelming kindness bringing five orphans from war ravished Europe but naïve for thinking that humanity can separate prejudice. Evil can rear its ugly head no matter where you are or under what circumstances. Expecting a warm welcome, he is surprised at the hatred he faces. A Pulitzer Prize winner with emotions that run overboard, sometimes to the extreme. A book suited for those who wear their heart on their sleeve.
December 20, 2023
bleah. Eight snarky notes from me; could have been more. I gave it two stars instead of one only because I liked the parts where it wasn't all preachy or conspiracy theories. But really. Rich men are secret Communists - sort of. Psychiatrists are mostly bad guys who take advantage of people's weaknesses. The education system is too progressive. And only religion can solve your problems. ugh. Talk about riding your hobby horses until they drop. Also, if I saw one more variation on "That's how Italians are", I was going to scream. No more Taylor Caldwell books for me.
October 18, 2020
A minister adopts 5 children from Europe just after WWII and moves to a small mining town in the U.S.A. Not a book that would appeal to everyone, although it could have been written for current times. A bit political, a bit religious and a bit soap opera-ish. I do like the way Taylor Caldwell writes her novels about controversial subjects, while weaving her story around different types of families.
March 9, 2021
First published in 1959, this is a timeless story of good versus evil. It takes place at the close of WWII and tells of a returning veteran and chaplain who brings five homeless refugee children back to America with plans to adopt and care for them. He is greeted with much opposition from the residents of the small town where he is assigned to preach. His ability to practice the teachings of Jesus Christ and to forgive and influence others is remarkable.
November 4, 2025
Our God Is Real!
This is the first time that I have read this book. It was published when I was thirteen years old. The struggles and evils of this world have not changed but neither has the miracle of God’s forgiving grace. The book has renewed my belief that God is still in control, and that His saving power, through Jesus Christ, is still the answer for the forgiveness of our sins and life eternal.
This is the first time that I have read this book. It was published when I was thirteen years old. The struggles and evils of this world have not changed but neither has the miracle of God’s forgiving grace. The book has renewed my belief that God is still in control, and that His saving power, through Jesus Christ, is still the answer for the forgiveness of our sins and life eternal.
October 12, 2021
The characterization was key for me in this novel. Caldwell does a particularly good job rounding out the orphans. Jean, Kathy, Max, Pietro, Emilie, and finally Debby are altogether frightening, heartbreaking, loving children who deserve the wonderful home and family Reverend Johnny Fletcher gives them.
November 12, 2021
A wonderful book. Written in 1950's about post WWII America. The issues were so similar to the ones we are facing today it was amazing. I read it on Kindle. It is out of print in most places. If I could find a reasonable used copy I would buy it so I can share it with others. Check it out you won't be disappointed.
April 3, 2022
This is one of the most disorganized, convoluted books which I have read in a long time. There is an overdeveloped sense of the dramatic, and many scenes could have been described using far fewer of the repetitive descriptors. I do love a good, long book, but longer doesn't mean better; I struggled between giving it two or three stars.
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