The year is 1665. England is in the midst of the Restoration, and John Milton, a blind, politically and religiously marginalized writer associated with Oliver Cromwell's failed attempt to form a republic, has not yet published Paradise Lost. When one of the worst plagues in history descends upon London, he and his much younger wife are forced to flee to the countryside.
There Milton is befriended by the local curate, Rev. Theodore Wesson, who knows nothing about Milton's controversial past or the dangers of associating with him. Soon their fates become intertwined when the curate's hopes for advancement are threatened by his relationship to the notorious traitor and "king-killer," John Milton.
The situation tests Wesson's loyalty--to the monarchy, to friendship, to a church career--while complicating his already blurry sense of God's involvement in human affairs. For Milton, the cost is potentially even greater: the target of assassination attempts since the restoration of the monarchy five years earlier, he has real reason to fear for his life.
A riveting and briskly paced novel that transports the reader to a very particular place and time even as its themes resonate with our own time, Thom Satterlee's The Light Within will take its place next to works as varied as Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Colm Toibin's The Master.
"This deeply satisfying historical novel will keep you reading--and keep you examining your own conscience for the lies, big and small, that we tell. Thom Satterlee's subtle exploration of the memories of a seventeenth-century Anglican minister who came under the influence of John Milton brings to mind the reflective rhythms of Marilynne Robinson's Gilead. This is a tale full of surprises, told by an insightful craftsman."
--Paul J. Willis, author of The Alpine Tales
"Thom Satterlee's God's Liar, a novel narrated by a writer writing about a writer writing about still another writer, is--no surprise--about the power of language, the written word's potential to move, interrogate, affirm, offend, reveal, obscure, terrify, and comfort. We readers aren't only afforded opportunity to consider Milton's work in a new, intriguing light; we're also led to re-examine the troubled grace we see and hear in our own contemporary visions and voices."
--Tom Noyes, author of Come by Here: A Novella and Stories
"God's Liar vividly and rivetingly recreates the world that John Milton lived in during the years when London was riven by the plague. But it is really a novel about what it means to take risks, to compromise, and to sometimes fail--in other words, it's a novel about being human. And even if you are not someone who usually reads historic novels, you will be swept away by it."
--Linda Mannheim, author of This Way to Departures
"A comedy of manners . . . of the soul! What a delightful and unexpected novel, narrated by a wonderfully amicable liar you'll come to love and forgive. Thom Satterlee has written a surprising book that ponders the big questions while making you laugh and, occasionally, squirm. I hope Anthony Hopkins plays John Milton in the film!"
--Tom Franklin, author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
Thom Satterlee is the author of The Stages: A Novel (2012) and Burning Wyclif: Poems (2006). He lives in Marion, Indiana.
Genre: Inspirational
There Milton is befriended by the local curate, Rev. Theodore Wesson, who knows nothing about Milton's controversial past or the dangers of associating with him. Soon their fates become intertwined when the curate's hopes for advancement are threatened by his relationship to the notorious traitor and "king-killer," John Milton.
The situation tests Wesson's loyalty--to the monarchy, to friendship, to a church career--while complicating his already blurry sense of God's involvement in human affairs. For Milton, the cost is potentially even greater: the target of assassination attempts since the restoration of the monarchy five years earlier, he has real reason to fear for his life.
A riveting and briskly paced novel that transports the reader to a very particular place and time even as its themes resonate with our own time, Thom Satterlee's The Light Within will take its place next to works as varied as Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Colm Toibin's The Master.
"This deeply satisfying historical novel will keep you reading--and keep you examining your own conscience for the lies, big and small, that we tell. Thom Satterlee's subtle exploration of the memories of a seventeenth-century Anglican minister who came under the influence of John Milton brings to mind the reflective rhythms of Marilynne Robinson's Gilead. This is a tale full of surprises, told by an insightful craftsman."
--Paul J. Willis, author of The Alpine Tales
"Thom Satterlee's God's Liar, a novel narrated by a writer writing about a writer writing about still another writer, is--no surprise--about the power of language, the written word's potential to move, interrogate, affirm, offend, reveal, obscure, terrify, and comfort. We readers aren't only afforded opportunity to consider Milton's work in a new, intriguing light; we're also led to re-examine the troubled grace we see and hear in our own contemporary visions and voices."
--Tom Noyes, author of Come by Here: A Novella and Stories
"God's Liar vividly and rivetingly recreates the world that John Milton lived in during the years when London was riven by the plague. But it is really a novel about what it means to take risks, to compromise, and to sometimes fail--in other words, it's a novel about being human. And even if you are not someone who usually reads historic novels, you will be swept away by it."
--Linda Mannheim, author of This Way to Departures
"A comedy of manners . . . of the soul! What a delightful and unexpected novel, narrated by a wonderfully amicable liar you'll come to love and forgive. Thom Satterlee has written a surprising book that ponders the big questions while making you laugh and, occasionally, squirm. I hope Anthony Hopkins plays John Milton in the film!"
--Tom Franklin, author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
Thom Satterlee is the author of The Stages: A Novel (2012) and Burning Wyclif: Poems (2006). He lives in Marion, Indiana.
Genre: Inspirational
Used availability for Thom Satterlee's God's Liar