Tyborne: And 'Who Went Thither

by Mother Mary Magdalen Taylor

First published anonymously nearly one hundred years ago, this experiment in historical fiction by the convert daughter of a Church of England clergyman who later became the foundress of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God, won its place immediately as a standard Catholic story not unworthy to rank with Cardinal Wiseman's Fabiola, and the reception accorded a new edition issued in the 1920's proved that it had not lost its charm for the young people of a later generation. It is concerned with the life of Blessed Edmund Campion and others of the English Martyrs and was highly thought of by the late Fr. Philip fletcher, who considered it had done pioneer work in promoting devotion to them. This new edition of a book long out of print has been entirely reset.

Genres: Catholic

190 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1954

Reviews

[Josephine (Jo) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lovely old book is one of my favourites from childhood. It tells the story of the de Lisle family who lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth l. After the death of Edward Baron de Lisle his wife Alice is left alone with her two children, Walter aged twelve and Isabel aged ten. Walter is the heir to the estates but he is under the guardianship of a distant kinsman the Earl of Beauville.
Beauville has become a Protestant and this has estranged him from the de Lisle family who remain staunchly Catholic. In Elizabethan England it was a dangerous thing to be openly Catholic and this book tells the story of the what the de Lisle family endured for their faith.
The lives of the various priests in the book are based upon, first and foremost the life of Edmund Campion who was executed for being a priest at the age of 41 in 1581. Some of the incidents are taken from the lives of other priests who died for the Faith at that time.
This story is beautifully written, it tells of the doomed love between Walter and the daughter of Lord Beauville, the heart breaking lives of the women connected with the de Lisle family and those who support them.
The main theme of the story however is the lives of the brave Catholics both priests and laity who kept the faith even though it meant a dreadful death.
The executions of these priests was the most horrific thing imaginable. The torture that they endured was beyond anything that I personally could imagine one human being doing to another. I wonder to myself 'who sat down and thought of making such things as these to use on another person?'
The Rack
The Scavenger's Daughter
The Collar
The Iron Maiden
Branding Irons
The Wheel
Thumbscrews
The forty English martyrs who are now Saints of the Church were just the tip of the iceberg. Ordinary people who were recusants, (refusing to attend a non Catholic church on Sundays and acknowledge Elizabeth as head of the church ) were also fined so much money each week for non attendance, initially the fine was twelve shillings, a lot of money at the time; later this went up to £25 per month. Failure to pay meant imprisonment . Even the most wealthy became destitute, losing their land and homes.
There were hundreds of such people and a man called John Lyon was martyred in my little market town, being hanged, drawn and quartered. He left his children orphaned and without the family farm.
The term recusant was later also used for any person who wished to practice a faith other than Protestantism, i.e. the Puritans and people of other faiths who were forbidden to openly practise their beliefs in England. The faith of these people puts me to shame, if I were to be put in those circumstances I am sure that without a great deal of help from Him above I would be a coward and conform.