Huguenot Garden

by Douglas M. Jones III

Huguenot Garden is a children's story of the daily and adventurous episodes in the lives of Rene and Albret Martineau, young twin sisters in a seventeeth-century, French Protestant family. This entertaining but moving story follows the twins and the rest of the Martineau family as they work, worship, commune, and suffer persecution together. This short novel by Douglas Jones aims to portray the ideas and historical details common to Huguenot life in La Rochelle, France, 1685, a tragic year whose final quarter brought the full wrath of Louis XIV. This novella by Douglas Jones is fun, exciting, and even moving in places. A fun way to get kids into a different time where people held to their faith despite opposition. This book is published by Canon Press. At Canon Press, we’re gospel no matter who you are or what you do, you’re called to be increasing in Biblical faithfulness. That’s because Jesus’s death and resurrection changed All of Christ, for all of life, for all the world. As the wisest man said, “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works” (Eccl. 9:7). We believe reformation and revival start from faith in the Lord with joyful obedience to the Bible, and that is what makes everyday tasks significant and transforms culture. Because of these beliefs, we offer books on Christian living, encouragement, contentment, raising kids, healthy marriages, educational choices, classical education, homeschooling, politics, government, feminism, identity, manhood, womanhood, singleness, virtue, and so much more.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Childrens, Christian, School, Audiobook

120 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1995

About the author

Douglas Jones holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California, Irvine, and a Master of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Southern California.

Former senior editor of Credenda/Agenda and editor of Canon Press, he has taught philosophy at New Saint Andrews College and the University of Idaho, both in Moscow, Idaho, and Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.

Among Jones's many writing credits are three children's books, Huguenot Garden, Scottish Seas, and Dutch Color, and contributions to Back to Basics: Rediscovering the Richness of the Reformed Faith, Repairing the Ruins: The Classical and Christian Challenge to Modern Education, Bound Only Once: The Failure of Open Theism. He co-authored Angels in the Architecture with Douglas Wilson.

Jones's scholarship and short creative writing credits include "Reading Trees," a review of Thomas Campanella's Republic of Shade: New England and the American Elm, in Books and Culture: A Christian Review, September/October 2003 and "Coverings," a poem in the Spring/Summer 2004 issue of Valparaiso Poetry Review. Jones contributed numerous pieces to Credenda/Agenda, including the volume 14, issue 4 cover article, "Just Wood," which was anthologized in Best Christian Writing 2004. He has also written several short plays, including "University Cafe," which was selected as a finalist for the 2005 Theatre Publicus Prize for Dramatic Literature.

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent fictional story of a family of Huguenots in 17th century France who are persecuted by the King to recant their religion and join the Roman Catholic church. Great for older elementary as there are some harsh violent events in the story. It's written well, holds your interest, and gives children a good idea of the struggles protestants endured during this time.

5*****

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet in just the right way. I thought it worked well as a gentle, kid-level introduction to an ungentle persecution. It was neither sugar-coated nor too graphically horrific.

Being acquainted with the twins to whom the book is dedicated, I had fun trying to imagine mini versions of Amanda and Chelsea as I read the story.

My inner editor* requires that I add a hope that the more recent edition was proofread before republication. "Martineau's" is not a plural possessive, and a good percentage of the commas in the book needed to be eliminated.

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*Who do I think I'm kidding? There is no "inner" editor -- there's just editor all the way through, front to back, top to bottom, inside and out. ;^)

[Hillary Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet book about a family of believers in France known as Huguenots. It is written for children. It has about 2 scenes that I believe would be frightening to younger children. I would say 8ish yr and up..? That’s a total guesstimate. I know different kids have different thresholds. I want a hard copy of this book. It’s like a gentle introduction of hard and sad situations. It is filled with prayer, scripture, the family practices catechism together. It is a precious (fictional) story. Each chapter lasts 15 or 20 mins.

[Mummy Cat Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story follows two twin girls and their family, the Martineu's. They are living in La Rochelle, France, and are Huguenots. The story starts out with the family working in their home and working and owning a business in town. They attend church and the girls are working on memorizing their scriptures.

As the story continues, the girls are faced with scary situations from the King's Dragoons. The King eventually outlaws all Huguenot religious acts and forces most people to convert to the roman church.

My kids seemed to like this story well enough. It isn't very long, only 123 or so pages long but it took us quite awhile to finish.

I appreciated the author including pronunciation helps for names of things. French is not a friend of mine and I was certainly lost on how to say names of people and places.

This story is not graphic, by any means, but contains violence that I had to explain to my children.

Overall, this book is on a suggested read aloud book list for our homeschool. We seemed to enjoy this book well enough. My kids were able to sit and listen to the story, which is a bonus for me that the book kept their attention. I feel the story is educational as is shows how the Huguenots were mistreated by the King because of their religious beliefs. The story also explains a bit about France and French people.

Content: explains violence inflicted on the Huguenot's from the Dragoons

[Elaine Glafenhein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful story set during the French persecution of reformed Christians by the Roman Catholic church. A great living book to go along with history studies of this time period. The story is filled information about the Huguenots believed and kindled many good conversations with my kids about what we believe and the similarities and differences.

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet story. Narrator was well chosen.

[Jennifer Trovato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the book so much. It was just I just I loved Albreht and Renee. they were the main people. But I hated the dragoons. I enjoyed the ending.

[Bambi Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fictional story of a family of Huguenots in 17th century France being persecuted for their faith. Best for children 5-10. Spoiler: One instance of the pastor being drug by a horse that might be too intense but otherwise nothing graphic.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet story of everyday practical Christian living

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

My children call this Albrecht and the Soldiers. Children 2-6 can follow along and enjoy it. Moms can cry in the corner because of the promises.

[Lizze Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

We quite enjoyed listening to this at lunch. (Recommend: Get the Canon App) Very useful for helping your 4 year old understand and begin a vocabulary for bullies and despots: dragoons.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 7 yr old daughter thought it was amazing and I did too! It immediately pulled us in, held our interest, and brought the time period and situation to life. Renee and Albret were great characters to see the story through. I had no idea about the things Huguenots faced and chapter 10 had me crying and needing to take a break to finish the story. It was a beautiful story of faith and strength in the face of terrible actions by others. A wonderful read aloud to supplement our history unit about the Huguenots. I also really appreciated the helpful addition of how to pronounce the French names.

[Keith Kresge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty well done. Set in post-Bartholomew day massacre France, about a Huguenot family navigating the governmental pressures of that time. Vigorously reformed and Christian, Huguenot Garden is a winsome development of themes, including:
Intelligent courage
Obedience
Family piety
Traditional Christian “Gender roles”
Patience and long-suffering in persecution
Right worship
Firm faith
Gratitude
And paedobaptism. Baptists, be ye ready to combat an aesthetic and full doctrinal statement (two, actually) of paedobaptism. Those pernicious Presbyterians.

The reader I listened to was below average—she had a strange affectation. Fine besides.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixture of sweet and sad. The story is set as the last vestiges of toleration of the Huguenots are being dismantled by King Louis XIV. The characters do express strong criticisms of the Catholic church, which seemed off-putting to some reviewers, but I think those are historically accurate. The family teaches the children to pray for the king and to love their Catholic neighbors (some of whom are themselves kind, and some of whom are not). You get a little picture of a Huguenot family trying to live faithfully and pass on the faith in the face of hostility.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.

This was delightful and full of imagery of what it might have been like for Huguenots -- in their day to day family life and in persecution.

The image of the pastor who stood to protect his flock is moving to be sure.

If you are studying the French Reformation or any part of the Reformation, I commend this book to you! It will be a good addition to you curriculum.

I actually listened to this book through the Canon App - excellent reader for this story.

[Erica Gore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fantastic kids historical fiction book set in France during the 17th century, when Reformed Christian’s were persecuted by the Romans. It tells of a families hardships and how they continued to serve God and obey him no matter the cost. It’s a great way to talk about persecution, family life, obeying God when it’s hard, the importance of the local church, and honoring Christ as King. We listened to it on audio books in two sittings and my oldest children (6 and 4) loved it.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical fiction tells of the Huguenots and the Martineau family in 17th century France. It shows the frightening injustices that occurred during that time, but through the eyes of six year old twin sisters, making this book suitable to be read to even very young children.
This was a piece of history that I was previously unfamiliar with, and I enjoyed learning about this pivotal event, as George Washington was a direct ancestor of Huguenot immigrants.

[Megan Triplett · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids and I listened to this and enjoyed it very much! We had some good discussions about the cost of walking with Christ and about the burdens that Christians who have gone before us had to bear, which helped to secure a lot of the privileges we have today. Excellent story, darling characters and overall a very enjoyable listen. I also really appreciated the relationship between the mother and father and the bravery of the men.

[Karyn Tripp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my children as part of our history lessons this month. It is a book that inspires a lot of discussion for us. Reading about religious persecution is a sensitive thing for me because of the history of my own faith. I really was moved by the faith of the Huguenot people and their courage to not give up on their beliefs.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this lovely living book about a 17th century Huguenot family and quickly added it to our history lineup for the quarter. I enjoyed learning some Huguenot history and what family life might have been like for persecuted Christians who have gone before us. My daughter absolutely loved the book, saying, “They worshipped really in common with us!”

[Emily Geyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book! We are descendants of the Huguenots and I wear a Huguenot cross, so I’d been wanting to get some understanding of the persecution they went through. This book was just right for the kids - still hard to read about, but age appropriate.

[Anna Murdock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished reading this to the twins, we all really enjoyed it, good historical fiction.

[Tomi J · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful story that helped my children see persecution through cultures and the years.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to kids as part of a unit study. We enjoyed it, but it wasn’t a page turner.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to the kids and it was very well written and was able to introduce the suffering of the huguenots in a way that didn't overwhelm them, but allowed us to have a good discussion about it.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this out loud for our middles ages unit

[Lanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet books that covers heavy topics. Good for the soul.

[Trent Still · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read through this over a couple of weeks in the evening with my seven year old. We both really enjoyed it and look forward to learning more about the history of the Huguenots.

[Linda]

Interesting children's book. I read because I have Huguenot ancestors who fled France to Ireland and later to the US.