Tell No Man

by Adela Rogers St. Johns

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Genres: Fiction

Hardcover

First published April 1, 1967

About the author

Rogers St. Johns was an author, screenwriter, and journalist whose long career followed a variety of topics from sports, politics, and the movies.

She won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1970.

Reviews

[Kali]

Adela is my great grandma on my mothers side. I just recently had a daughter and gave her the middle name Adela. She was a fantastic woman!!!

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

With this novel I finished reading the list of top 10 bestsellers of 1966. It was my least favorite and I got quite aggravated trying to get though it. It is a Christian story with a twist. It is melodramatic, wordy, repetitive but at least not fully predictable.

Set in the early 1960s in Chicago and then a southern California beach town, it follows a married couple through all their difficulties. The husband left a successful job in finance after having a vision of Christ shown to him on a dark night of soul-searching. He went into training to be a Protestant minister and became a pastor at the beach town church. He wanted to bring the message of Jesus into reality in the 20th century by making the members of his congregation perform acts of faith in the town.

His wife was part of the wealthy set in Chicago but also an atheist and strongly resisted following him as a minister’s wife. Thus, a huge challenge to the marriage though they loved each other with passion. The top elder of the church was a wealthy real estate guy who wanted to build a new church in the suburbs while the minister wanted to stay in the town and perform miracles.

It was all too much of a “can this marriage be saved” plus religious belief and Bible passages plus the rich vs the poor kind of story for me. I was raised in a deeply religious family who spent so much time at church. I stopped going to church during my junior year in college. I believe in working for peace and social justice and just plain kindness but not exactly God or even a Supreme Being. I confess I have never read The Bible all the way through, but I am doing so now. Stay tuned! I also believe in respecting the religious beliefs of others.

While reading the bestsellers of 26 years so far, from 1940 to 1966, I have noticed that there are usually one or two Christian themed books on the list. Tell No Man took the #7 spot for 1966.

As promised in an earlier review, here is the 1966 list of bestsellers. I have read all of them and my reviews can be found on Goodreads.

1. *Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann
2. *The Adventurers, Harold Robbins
3. *The Secret of Santa Vittoria, Robert Crichton
4. *Capable of Honor, Allen Drury
5. *The Double Image, Helen MacInnes
6. *The Fixer, Bernard Malamud
7. *Tell No Man, Adela Rogers St Johns
8. *Tai-Pan, James Clavell
9. *The Embezzler, Louis Auchincloss
10.*All in the Family, Edwin O’Connor

[Jimmy L. Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I have ever read.

[Darleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book in high school after I saw my older sister reading it. I've now read it three times. Each time I think the same thing: it should have been edited down by about 50-75 pages since it begins to become tedious after a while. The book is a spiritual journey book: a novel about a business man's religious conversion and decision to leave his high-paying job to enter into ministry. How his decision affects his wife and family and how his own faith is challenged by it all is what makes this book so fascinating. I regret that the copy I have is held together by a rubber band, but it shows how good the book is.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am amazing story of a man's conversion experience and the effect it has on the people he loves.I just reread this after probably 25-30 years. More compelling and profound than I recalled. A must read.

[Marilyn Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really different. St Johns's writing style is unusual but once I got used to it found the story fascinating. Written as a novel, but I heard the author on a talk show many years ago when she claimed it is actually a true story.

[Adrienne DeJarnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Some good insights, a few wacky notions. A rich man becomes a Christian, feels called into ministry, and believes you should live out what the Bible says - a notion his family and friends react to. I enjoyed it but found the stream-of-consciousness writing style difficult (tedious).

[Jakki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have read this incredible book a couple of times now as an inspiration of what life in Christ could be if we lived like we believed what He said against all odds. It encourages me to be bold, to trust in His Word, and to pray expecting Him to answer. Imagine the possibilities!

[Mofhrn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. It is slow in the beginning, but persevere. You won’t regret your decision.