Dwell Deep

by Amy Le Feuvre

A golden cornfield in the still sunshine of a warm August afternoon. In one corner of it, bordering a green lane, a group of shady elms, and under their shadow a figure of a young girl, who, gazing dreamily before her, sat leaning her head against an old gnarled trunk in quiet content. A small-shaped head, with dark curly hair, and a pair of blue-grey eyes with black curved lashes, these were perhaps her chief characteristics; more I cannot say, for it is difficult to describe oneself, and it was I, Hilda Thorn, who was seated there.

Genres: Classics

196 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1896

About the author

Amelia Sophia Le Feuvre (1861-1929) was born in Blackheath, London, England in 1861.

She grew up in a large family which employed a governess for the children's education. Her father worked as a Surveyor at H. M. Customs. Her grandfather, James Mainguy, was a reverend in Guernsey.

She dedicated her life to writing and wrote many books and stories that are filled with Biblical principles and her popularity began in the 1890s and continued for over three decades. She also wrote for magazines like 'Sunday at Home' and 'The Quiver'. Her writing was typical of the new approach of the evangelical writers to the young reader and, like many of the writers of the period she was particularly fond of the "quaint" child, "old fashioned" with delicate health, a type modelled on Paul Dombey. She also wrote of family life, specialising in the outwardly naughty child, the odd one out, whose motives are consistently misunderstood by the adults.

Her publishers included Revell in Chicago, Dodd Mead in New York, the Religious Tract Society in London, and Hodder and Stoughton in London and latterly the Lutterworth Press kept her works in print.

She died at Exeter, Devon, on 29 April 1929 after 68 fruitful years.

Her first book, 'Eric's Good News', was published in 1894 and her last, 'A Strange Courtship' was published posthumously in 1931. She wrote more than 65 books in her career, including at least one, 'Laddie's Choice' (1912), using the pseudonym Mary Thurston Dodge.

Note: Her exact date of birth is not known, she was born in the first quarter of 1861 so the date of 1 March has been used for convenience.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable writing style. Though at one time our views would have been very similar, I now disagree with the author on Christianity and social interaction. I understand safely avoiding genuine dangers to the Christian life, but avoiding parties and social events isn't the same as "not being of the world." I admire her ability to speak of the mission field in which God places us -- right here, right now, living for God.

[Emma | meadowroselibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come 🩷

[Avigail Yess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great! Not only is it beautiful on the outside (The version I read was), but it is also stunning on the inside.
Dwell Deep is the story of an orphaned young woman named Margaret Thorn who is trying not to conform to the world's ways. Being young to the faith, Margaret struggles to stand strong when being ridiculed for her beliefs. While faltering between obeying God or pleasing man, she often reflects on Jeremiah 49:8 which says, "Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him."
While going through the continuous struggles and trials of life, Margaret learns to draw hope and peace form the phrase "dwell deep." When we are going through hard times may we always remember that phrase like Margaret and truly dwell deep.

[Theresa Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another example of a well written book of early culture, mostly set in England. Of course the social mores and politics of the time were extremely traditional, because of the time it was written, 1923 as I recall. The reader can't really judge the book on the basis of what we now believe, because it is a snapshot of an extinguished time. When we read these antique books, mostly written and published in the UK and America, we need to remember that they are often 100 years old and older. There are few parallels in which to compare life then to life now. They focus on ideas of service, God, the sins of the flesh and of selfishness and of the importance of self-sacrifice and of service to the community and to God in general. The stories are often the same, and can be charming in their innocence. The writing is good of course but dated. The importance of these books is that they are "culturally significant" in that they preserve small snapshots of how life was back then in the UK and in America. For this reason, this book and many like if are very important and should be read and studied.

[Stevie McHugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is The Life

Dwell Deep is a book for the ages. It is an accurate account of what it is like to be surrendered to Christ in the midst of a world that rejects Him as Lord over their lives. For seekers, this could be what makes the answer to life clear. For born-again believers, it is a cold drink of water in the scorching desert.

[Jo M · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3 stars

Agree with the sentiment about dwelling deep, the power of using gifts for the Lord, and not missionary dating, disagree with interpretation of “living in the world and not of it”. Personally, the story felt a little preachy vs naturally laying out the faith.

I must say though - Lamplighter made a gorgeous cover for this one

[Chloe W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book! This is a thoughtful book that demonstrates that if you are excited to get married and do other wonderful things in life, the first step is to "dwell deep" in the Lord and grow closer to him. Highly recommend for teenage girls.