Idols in the Heart

by A.L.O.E.

Excerpt from Idols in the Heart: A Tale

Vincent, the youngest of the party, a boy about eleven years of age, had been sitting at the table with a book before him, but had never turned over a leaf, drinking in eagerly every word uttered by his aunt on the subject Of the step-mother whose arrival with her husband was now hourly expected in Belgrave Square. He was a bright, intelligent boy, in whose blue eyes every passing emotion was mirrored as in a glass, whether the feeling were good or evil. The expression of those eyes was neither kind nor gentle as he said abruptly, Didn't you tell us that her grandmother was a French woman? I do hate and detest everything French!

290 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1878

About the author

Charlotte Maria Tucker, the English author, who wrote under the pseudonym A.L.O.E (a Lady of England), was the daughter of Henry St George Tucker (1771-1851), a distinguished official of the British East India Company. From 1852 till her death she wrote many stories for children, most of them allegories with an obvious moral, and devoted the proceeds to charity. In 1875 she left England for India to engage in missionary work, and died at Amritsar on the 2nd of December 1893.

Reviews

[Chloe W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story! I did wonder why Clemence would marry a widower without ever having met the children before. But watching how some of the characters grew and changed was beautiful. I was sad that some characters seemed incapable of change but it was also a somber reminder that every day you are going into a certain type of person and if your struggling with something don't put it off until tomorrow to address it - it will be a process but living with a bad habit without addressing it is only helping you make it more of a habit. Clemence was the most enjoyable to follow her journey - she came to grow into a woman I wanted to emulate in so many ways, it was inspiring!

[Kaitlyn Rinehart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great reminder of what is most important in life. Also, it teaches a main lesson to be aware of how you spend your time and not let other things or people come before God. The story it told was well written.

[Inge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of the last step before publication as an e-book by the Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders, to remove the last errors (smooth reading). If you want to read this book, it will be available through Project Gutenberg soon.

To me, it was a bit heavy on religious virtues in the end, but over all it is a nice story which reflects the time in which it was written.