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Chosen Daughters
Dr. Oma: The Healing Wisdom of Countess Juliana Von Stolberg
Gifted Herbalist, Mender of Hearts, Champion of Freedom.
Juliana von Stolberg (1506-1580), the Queen Mother of the Netherlands, is cherished by the Dutch people as a wise and gifted healer. Juliana gains an able apprentice when her granddaughter Maria comes to live with her. Will Maria learn to put her trust in God while her father, the courageous William of Orange, fights to free Holland from Spanish rule? Will one woman's belief save the Netherlands and change the world?
The Chosen Daughters series highlights the lives of ordinary women who by God's grace accomplish extraordinary things.
Juliana von Stolberg (1506-1580), the Queen Mother of the Netherlands, is cherished by the Dutch people as a wise and gifted healer. Juliana gains an able apprentice when her granddaughter Maria comes to live with her. Will Maria learn to put her trust in God while her father, the courageous William of Orange, fights to free Holland from Spanish rule? Will one woman's belief save the Netherlands and change the world?
The Chosen Daughters series highlights the lives of ordinary women who by God's grace accomplish extraordinary things.
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
Ethel L. Herr
16 books3 followersEthel Herr is a writer, teacher, historian, and author of the Reformation fiction books know as the Seekers Series.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 15, 2022
A real woman and her granddaughter, a biography. Even through the toughest of times her faith in God- unshakeable. Easy to read, like most stories of real life, not a happy ending as far as happy endings go, BUT GOD. He has a plan for each of us, all are different, and we will be with Him someday.
November 12, 2019
This book highlights a piece of church history that I hadn't known before. Holland's fight for religious freedom from Spain that is grounded in the belief that government should not religiously persecute its own citizens. This had overwhelming impact in America's fight for religious freedoms and to be explicitly stated in our historical documents. We enjoyed reading this as a family.
January 24, 2025
I read this book for the reading challenge “reread a book you hated as a child.” I didn’t remember hating this book, only yawning and never picking it up again. I had similar thoughts this time - I kept waiting for something to actually happen but it never did. Eh.
January 27, 2021
This was an engaging, interesting Christian Young Adult read.
I would recommend this book to a YA reader, so long as I knew they were solid in their faith--simply because, with the historical setting, there was some discussion of faulty theology about the Bible, demons, etc. It was fairly promptly dealt with, and I liked how it was handled.
Theology aside, other potentially disturbing content would be a mentally unstable character. This character is also mentioned as being pregnant by a man other than her husband later in the book. There is mention of characters drinking alcohol. I think someone says "curse you" at some point. At the end, there is a description of the father's assassination that includes some blood. These issues could be disturbing for younger/more sensitive readers. However, the strong faith message, as well as the true historical setting that is the story, make where I think it could still be a worthwhile read for a more mature reader.
I would recommend this book to a YA reader, so long as I knew they were solid in their faith--simply because, with the historical setting, there was some discussion of faulty theology about the Bible, demons, etc. It was fairly promptly dealt with, and I liked how it was handled.
Theology aside, other potentially disturbing content would be a mentally unstable character. This character is also mentioned as being pregnant by a man other than her husband later in the book. There is mention of characters drinking alcohol. I think someone says "curse you" at some point. At the end, there is a description of the father's assassination that includes some blood. These issues could be disturbing for younger/more sensitive readers. However, the strong faith message, as well as the true historical setting that is the story, make where I think it could still be a worthwhile read for a more mature reader.
September 18, 2017
So far, this is my daughter's favorite of the series because she found the characters relatable and interesting.
June 1, 2022
Interesting history, terrible writing. Felt disjointed and patronizing.
December 16, 2025
Number of pages: 197
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: Chosen Daughters (unrelated stories that can be read in any order)
Age recommendation: 12-14
Summary: Maria had been living with the duchess Margaretha for some years when her father called her urgently home as her Oma was dying. When she arrived, she discovered her Oma was fine, but with tensions between Willem Van Oranje and the King of Spain, Maria has to live at home until things could be sorted out.
My thoughts: I found this really interesting to read, as it shared some of the history of the Netherlands, where my dad’s family comes from. Willem Van Oranje is the one who fought Spain to gain Holland’s independence, and while this book didn’t go much into the details of the battle or of gaining independence from Spain, it talked a lot about the underlying strain between Willem and the Spanish king. Most of this strain was actually religious: the Spanish were Catholics, but Willem was a Protestant: believing regular people could read the Bible, pray to God and know God personally, which was unheard of, and considered heresy. Before returning home, the duchess told Maria that protestants were wicked, demonic heretics that she should avoid at all costs. This terrified Maria to get close to anyone at home because she thought they might be devils themselves. Her Oma taught her though that there is nothing wrong with reading God’s word, in fact it is a good thing to do.
I also enjoyed reading about the everyday life of the people. Oma was a healer, and taught Maria how to use the same herbal treatments so she too could help others.
I felt bad for Maria because of her stepmother. "Mad Anna" would be a very difficult person to live with. I also feel bad for her dad, who didn’t know what he was getting into when he married her because he never got the chance to know her before getting married.
I did wish there was a little more information about the founding of the Netherlands. The book goes into more of the tensions that started the war in the first place, and then just says Willem and his family started fighting the King of Spain. I don’t even remember if the book talked about freedom from the king in the end or not. I felt bad for Philip Willems though. He was kidnapped by the king of Spain, and brainwashed to go against his own father. That’s just really sad.
I thought the Christian content was very well done. It explained some of the religious beliefs at the time the book was set, but there was still a clear gospel message presented, and the idea that killing someone for their beliefs was wrong was a big theme of the book. Another theme is to trust God with everything. Oma says this is the only thing that allows her to keep going when things are difficult: she has to give up all her fears to God and have faith that He knows what He’s doing. It’s not easy though.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would be interested in reading more books in this series.
My personal rating: 4/5 stars.
Link to blog:https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: Chosen Daughters (unrelated stories that can be read in any order)
Age recommendation: 12-14
Summary: Maria had been living with the duchess Margaretha for some years when her father called her urgently home as her Oma was dying. When she arrived, she discovered her Oma was fine, but with tensions between Willem Van Oranje and the King of Spain, Maria has to live at home until things could be sorted out.
My thoughts: I found this really interesting to read, as it shared some of the history of the Netherlands, where my dad’s family comes from. Willem Van Oranje is the one who fought Spain to gain Holland’s independence, and while this book didn’t go much into the details of the battle or of gaining independence from Spain, it talked a lot about the underlying strain between Willem and the Spanish king. Most of this strain was actually religious: the Spanish were Catholics, but Willem was a Protestant: believing regular people could read the Bible, pray to God and know God personally, which was unheard of, and considered heresy. Before returning home, the duchess told Maria that protestants were wicked, demonic heretics that she should avoid at all costs. This terrified Maria to get close to anyone at home because she thought they might be devils themselves. Her Oma taught her though that there is nothing wrong with reading God’s word, in fact it is a good thing to do.
I also enjoyed reading about the everyday life of the people. Oma was a healer, and taught Maria how to use the same herbal treatments so she too could help others.
I felt bad for Maria because of her stepmother. "Mad Anna" would be a very difficult person to live with. I also feel bad for her dad, who didn’t know what he was getting into when he married her because he never got the chance to know her before getting married.
I did wish there was a little more information about the founding of the Netherlands. The book goes into more of the tensions that started the war in the first place, and then just says Willem and his family started fighting the King of Spain. I don’t even remember if the book talked about freedom from the king in the end or not. I felt bad for Philip Willems though. He was kidnapped by the king of Spain, and brainwashed to go against his own father. That’s just really sad.
I thought the Christian content was very well done. It explained some of the religious beliefs at the time the book was set, but there was still a clear gospel message presented, and the idea that killing someone for their beliefs was wrong was a big theme of the book. Another theme is to trust God with everything. Oma says this is the only thing that allows her to keep going when things are difficult: she has to give up all her fears to God and have faith that He knows what He’s doing. It’s not easy though.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would be interested in reading more books in this series.
My personal rating: 4/5 stars.
Link to blog:https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
December 17, 2019
All I can say is that this book tried. It really did. It tried so so hard to be a good book.. but it was just missing something. I think part of it was the overuse of dates and trying to sound very romantical. I don’t mean ‘romantic’ as in romance - I mean like a fairy tale. And it didn’t seem to fit - it started off with mostly ‘normal’, easy to understand speech. Perhaps it’s cause she started off as a child, I don’t know - it just didn’t click with me.
Also I didn’t quite get this quote: ‘I have lost so much already - first my mother, then Phillips Willem, and a wagon load of family treasures sold to raise funds for the war.’
First, how do the possessions compare to the loss of her family; and second, why didn’t the author ‘show’ how they were sold for funds, not add-it-on-real-quick-just-cause-they-remembered.
But perhaps I’m being too critical here. Who knows! 😄
I just think this author has great descriptions and an amazing idea... it just wasn’t enough to keep me interested. Like, there wasn’t really any adventure and a lot of the book is taken up with Maria (MC) feeling either depressed, worried or scared.
I simply didn’t love it.
Also I didn’t quite get this quote: ‘I have lost so much already - first my mother, then Phillips Willem, and a wagon load of family treasures sold to raise funds for the war.’
First, how do the possessions compare to the loss of her family; and second, why didn’t the author ‘show’ how they were sold for funds, not add-it-on-real-quick-just-cause-they-remembered.
But perhaps I’m being too critical here. Who knows! 😄
I just think this author has great descriptions and an amazing idea... it just wasn’t enough to keep me interested. Like, there wasn’t really any adventure and a lot of the book is taken up with Maria (MC) feeling either depressed, worried or scared.
I simply didn’t love it.
June 17, 2025
I read this to see if it’s one I’ll want for when my kids get a bit older. I hadn’t known anything about these two women before so it was interesting to learn this small bit about them. It was definitely a character based book vs a plot based one.
April 10, 2022
It's actually really grown up. I loved the faith of Dr Oma! I loved it.
June 24, 2022
The historical part seemed rather interesting, but the writing style was boring.
September 28, 2025
I am usually not a fan of historical fiction, but this was enjoyable and valuable.
March 25, 2017
Great for young girls - lots of history and some faith. I enjoyed the references to ancient herbal lore.
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January 13, 2014The subtitle of this book is, The Healing Wisdom of Countess Juliana von Stolberg. The subtitle was enough to attract my attention. The Countess is a historical figure, the mother of William of Orange. Although the story is fiction it provides accurate historical data.
Juliana is a healer and nurturer within her community. She lived during the time period when Spain was enforcing one religious view, imprisoning people that held a different faith perspective. Her son, William of Orange, led the fight for religious freedom and to free the Netherlands from Spanish rule.
This book gives a wholesome view of one woman persevering in her faith, using her talents with herbs for healing in her home and community. It is a suitable read for young adults. It was a quick read. The author, Ethel Herr, is a historian. She has written the Seeker Series—Reformation fiction books.
Juliana is a healer and nurturer within her community. She lived during the time period when Spain was enforcing one religious view, imprisoning people that held a different faith perspective. Her son, William of Orange, led the fight for religious freedom and to free the Netherlands from Spanish rule.
This book gives a wholesome view of one woman persevering in her faith, using her talents with herbs for healing in her home and community. It is a suitable read for young adults. It was a quick read. The author, Ethel Herr, is a historian. She has written the Seeker Series—Reformation fiction books.
April 20, 2015
I love these books because they're real. Maria is only twelve when she's sent from the life she knows to live with her grandmother and the rest of her protestant family. The problem is though that Maria has been taught to fear the Bible. As she learns from her oma, she must grow, learn, face her fears and see her family leave her.
The Chosen Daughter books are bibliographical fiction. In other words, real people, real events, fictional details. As you read them, you feel like these really were people you could have grown u with. You feel their struggles and you cry when people die. Awesome books.
The Chosen Daughter books are bibliographical fiction. In other words, real people, real events, fictional details. As you read them, you feel like these really were people you could have grown u with. You feel their struggles and you cry when people die. Awesome books.
November 29, 2009
I think this is my favorite of all the Chosen Daughters series!
October 14, 2013
I wanted less religious story and more about the herbal knowledge. But that's ok. A quick read
September 17, 2015
The story spent several chapters on the first year or so of the plot, then quickly jumped from year to year in the latter portion of the book. A good book.
September 20, 2017
A really good read.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews