Lord Bountiful

by Francis J. Finn

Here is another work of juvenile fiction by Father Finn. "Oh! THERE he is again. I wonder whether he is coming to see me' The young miss who thus exclaimed, sprang away from the third floor window, out of which she had been leaning for fully a quarter of an hour, hastened to a small looking-glass, gave a dab to her bobbed hair, slipped into her ears a pair of long earrings, ran a lip-stick over her lips, pinched her cheeks into an added redness, fastened a brooch upon her collar, and, as she dashed down the stairs, powdered her nose-all in less time than it takes me to set it down on paper.

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1923

About the author

Father Francis J. Finn, S.J. was born to Irish immigrant parents at St. Louis, Missouri in 1859.

As a boy, Francis was deeply impressed with Cardinal Wiseman’s famous novel of the early Christian martyrs, Fabiola. After that, religion really began to mean something to him. Eleven-year-old Francis was a voracious reader; he read the works of Charles Dickens, devouring Nicholas Nickleby and The Pickwick Papers. From his First Communion at age 12, Francis began to desire to become a Jesuit priest; but then his fervor cooled, his grades dropped, and his vocation might have been lost except for Fr. Charles Coppens. Fr. Coppens urged Francis to apply himself to his Latin, to improve it by using an all-Latin prayerbook, and to read good Catholic books. Fr. Finn credited the saving of his vocation to this advice and to his membership in the Sodality of Our Lady.

After graduating from St. Louis University, he became a Jesuit and was ordained a priest in 1893. He had already begun writing his debut novel Tom Playfair prior to this, as he was assigned to St. Mary s College in Kansas and dealt with unruly boys on a daily basis. He went on to write twenty-seven other books, and his novels for children were very successful. The books contain fun stories, likeable characters and themes that remain current in today's world. Each story conveys an important moral precept. He was much loved by young people, and thousands of them gathered to honor his death in 1928.

Reviews

[Zachary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting for several reasons, but it was not what I would consider a "great" book. Francis Finn's depiction of American society in the early 20th century is intriguing because it is so very different from contemporary society - I doubt, for instance, that many mothers today would trust an unrelated man (someone she had not even previously met) playing with her children.

St. Therese, the Little Flower, plays a mute role in the book, and overall it is a charming picture of Catholic devotion to the Saints. Characterization, though, is exceedingly weak - a common trait among Fr. Finn's stories.

[ShepherdsDelight · Rating 5 out of 5]

86/100 (= 5.1/6) ≈ 5 Stars

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Super story. Not quite the caliber of Tom Playfair and Fairy of the Snows, but so close. Great captivating story!