To be fair, there are literally thousands of these types of articles, videos, podcasts, etc. out there. To be fair, I love books, so I’m going to forge ahead anyway. More than just suggest these books, I want to go down a couple rabbit holes explaining what about them is worth reading. That’s why we’re only going to go through three—otherwise, we could be here all evening. I will do my best to shy away from common favorites, such as Lord of the Rings, The Narnia Chronicles, and Harry Potter Although all of the above are admirable stories, they appear often in other videos or review articles.
Starting with the title of the story, I will share the general plot (no spoilers!), one or more favorite quotes, a character I particularly enjoyed learning about or related to, and a virtue portrayed that inspired me. This list is in no particular order.
1. The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson
This series of four books follows a multigenerational family: three children, their mother and their grandfather on an epic journey through an entirely unique fantasy world spanning oceans, islands, towns reminiscent of Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle, ancient ruins, and so much more. There are sharp-toothed cows; snake-people; dogs as large as horses; mad birdmen; and the list goes on. It is a tale first and foremost of sacrifice, but it touches on blood and found family; sibling bonds; death and what happens after it. There are themes of inner turmoil and victory like shame, triumphant compassion, redemption, purpose in extreme suffering, and it’s just such a fun adventure to share, guys. The scenery, the words, the footnotes that sometimes take up half a page, make the Saga what it is, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Besides, the atmosphere and mood he creates… *chef’s kiss*. I would save this to your winter/autumn TBR, but it is an all year round read for sure. In North! Or Be Eaten, most of the setting is a frozen tundra, whereas The Monster in the Hollows is a place of green, moss, warm sun, and cozy cottages.
Peterson’s writing grows so much throughout the journey, and perhaps this is why the books are so quintessential to the fantasy genre, because everybody starts somewhere. Sometimes, I find the modern fantasy works to be nothing but words slapped on a page that follow boring tropes, so that authors can make money. But with Peterson, I never felt that way. I felt the rawness of an artist trying his hand at something new, wanting so desperately to communicate through his stories the power of love and self-sacrifice, which themes are rarely spoken about in terms of the classical view in modern literature. On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness is the title of the first, and although I think the writing definitely has some rough patches and the flow is disrupted, I think that Mr. Peterson’s own narrative voice really shines through, and continues to become as the books progress. By the end, he a very specific tone honed and he knows what he likes and what he does not.
If you don’t appreciate endings that will make your heart grow bigger than you thought it could go, this book isn’t for you. If you don’t like coziness but make it seriously deep, not for you.
Quotes
“We all forget from time to time, and so we need one another to tell us our stories. Sometimes a story is the only way back from the darkness.”
“He wanted to be alone, and he wanted to be found.”
“He means to make his subjects merciful and wise; sorrow and struggle bringeth both. We will, he tells me, grow by grieving, live by dying, love by losing. The heart itself is the field of battle and the garden green.”
Character Notes
Janner was the character of note in this series for me. Although, if basing favorite character criteria on pure entertainment, Grandpa Podo would top them all. Janner, for me, was who I related most to. The discussion on his tendencies toward selfish thought; his bitterness for the role he had been burdened (or gifted?…) with; his astronomical growth as a very young person to accomplish the feats set before him by the author—all these things inspired myself, the oldest sibling in my family. I think what made Janner so close to my own heart was the load he carried and how he did not forsake it or put it onto others’ backs, but instead learned to grow strong enough to bear it. Few characters in literature are truly self-sacrificing; there is often a hidden motive of egotistical benefit, but Janner showcased to me what a Christian Saint ought to be.
Prominent Virtue
One hundred percent, hands down: self-sacrifice. Though I love Janner, all three siblings as well as almost all of the adults in this series manifested this virtue throughout. Podo Helmer, Leeli, Janner, Tink, Nia, Peet the Sockman, even side characters, ooze grace, mercy, and selfless action. They remind me acutely of Sam Gamgee from Tolkien’s trilogy. That isn’t to say none of them ever struggle, indeed, there are blatant moments where they are conflicted. Yet, oftentimes Peterson allows for their virtuous character and sturdy upbringing be their guiding light. So so few stories today give us examples of what laying down your life actually looks like, and I am eternally grateful to Andrew Peterson for prioritizing this show of character in his tetralogy.
2. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
Before you read the below, keep in mind that it has been a bit of a time since I read this last, although I have read it twice. My high opinion of it still stands, although the details may be hazy.
This highly undervalued classic has been put in with other gothic tales like Wuthering Heights, Dracula, Rebecca, and others. Admittedly, I think major parts of the novel are. I have always thought of it, though as a moving and live portrait. The story itself literally feels like you have fallen into a Renaissance oil painting.
Don’t get me wrong—when I read this, it’s usually during the autumn. It most certainly earns the title of gothic. Reading Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, I found to my delight that the heroine of that tale read Udolpho and Ms. Morland’s imagination was so captivated that she began to imagine her own life after Emily’s. Northanger Abbey is a poke at the gothic genre, and worth a read. Buuut we are not here to discuss Austen, rather let’s discuss a Radcliffe adventure story.
Through France and into Italy and back again into France, we follow our one and only Emily St. Aubert. If her name alone doesn’t sway you to read the first chapter, I’m sorry, I can’t help you. This beauteous, virtuous, and somewhat emotional young girl is transported from greatest happiness to bitter suffering. Specifically, the novel discusses suffering that occurs in our minds during painful material circumstances. Often throughout the story, there are many sentences dedicated to describing the lush mountain landscapes, old rural French villages, as well as debauched Venetian crowds.
Featured are wicked counts; weak-willed, selfish, and greedy aunts; brainless yet devious (if one can be both) suitors; a monstrous dark and haunted castle; natural scapes that take your breath away; perilous escapes. There are convents, secrets, fights, love, and so much more. It feels to me a blend of Arthurian legend, Romeo and Juliet, and Wuthering Heights. Valancourt, the man every woman could possibly dream of, is our love interest. Something that I love about this tale is that Ann Radcliffe thought of this novel first and foremost a romance. In fact, in the original publication, The title page is The Mysteries of Udolpho, a romance. Funny, until I was flipping through it looking for my favorite parts and reliving it in order to write about it, I hadn’t realized. It feels so much to be a journey to me.
Quotes
“A well-informed mind,’ he would say, ‘is the best security against the contagion of folly and of vice. The vacant mind is ever on the watch for relief, and ready to plunge into error, to escape from the languor of idleness. Store it with ideas, teach it the pleasure of thinking; and the temptations of the world without, will be counteracted by the gratification derived from the world within.”
“I would not annihilate your feelings, my child, I would only teach you to command them; for whatever may be the evils resulting from a too susceptible heart, nothing can be hoped from an insensible one; that, on the other hand, is all vice—vice, of which the deformity is not softened, or the effect consoled for, by any semblance or possibility of good.”
Character Notes
Emily St. Aubert is the most developed in this work, and thus do I gravitate toward her throughout reading Udolpho, although her father is a close second. Emily is a wonderful example of a young woman who truly does transcend her trials to be one of strength, mental fortitude, and courage. The novel does show its time and genre (romance) by Emily’s ‘weak constitution’. That being said, her strong mind makes up for it, keeping her looking toward God even amidst much inner turmoil and pain of loss. At the beginning, there is much talk of her learning to healthfully maintain her romantic and partially anxious mind, curating a still inner life, and see God as her Father. I love that she is willing even to deny her own happiness so that she might attain it later through pure motives. There are two major incidents in the book which showcase her righteousness and prudence overwhelming her immediate desires, and I think those acts of discipline are so lacking in today’s culture. I don’t find her a prude, either, as perhaps some may claim. The way in which Radcliffe writes her heroine is in such a way that reveals the humble of heart to be the ones who receive true happiness in the end, rather than exuding human force on fate in order to attain a quick escape from hurts.
Prominent Virtue
Similarly linked to my description of Emily, one of the more enticing topics for me in this book was the subject of disciplining the mind to obey one’s reason. In order for Emily to survive the Count’s brutal treatment and haunted dwelling, Emily chose to protect herself by protecting her mind from becoming wrapped up in the comings and goings of that horrifying place she found herself trapped within. Gracefully she acquiescences to much of what her two guardians command of her, unless it go against her deepest feelings and morals, though those tasks may be unpleasant for her. She reminds me a bit of Jane Eyre, in the earlier chapters of that novel. She grows in knowledge of God as her Heavenly Father without having loved ones near to comfort her in her darkest moments of despair. I enjoyed watching her look to the skies and landscapes often, to remind herself of the larger spiritual realm that oversees all of man’s troubles. In the end, Radcliffe rewards Emily’s good sense despite her intense suffering and even, dare I say, depression. At some point in the novel, Emily ends up staying at a monastery, and dearest to my heart are those chapters in the book. I love her preserved innocence, that her heart has not been hardened to the beautiful and quiet parts of the world by trapped for so long.
3. Bullfinch’s Mythology
Originally published in multiple volumes (three, if I recall rightly), Thomas Bullfinch’s mythology collection was for me, some of the most enjoyable time I’ve spent reading literature. I have always loved cosmological mythology, ranging from Egyptian when I was young, to Greek and Roman in middle/high school, and most recently, Christianity and the Saints in the middle ages.
My own copy (B&N Classics ed.) holds all three collections of Bullfinch’s translated stories: The Age of Fable, The Age of Chivalry, and Legends of Charlemagne. I greatly enjoyed reading the many myths that played out so stunningly in my mind. Amongst shortened versions of famous stories like The Iliad and The Odyssey as well as Morte d’Arthur we have some shorter stories like Orpheus and Eurydice (cue Hadestown in the background); The Lady of the Fountain; some introductory stories to Egyptian mythology; a section on ‘modern monsters’ such as the phoenix, basilisk, and unicorn. Hippogriffs are mentioned as well (iykyk). Also, spy Bradamante of the White Plume—a woman who is also a knight… one of my favorite chronicles in The Legends of Charlemagne collection.
My copy in particular—and most copies of the Bullfinch Mythologies to be found in bookstores—is pretty hefty: 854 pages’ hefty. With that said, I enjoyed the simplicity of his translations and the selected works that make up the three volumes are almost all very intriguing. I’m not one to really read many short stories put into one work, but I thought most of them very entertaining as well as a easy introduction to mythologies and fantasies of other older cultures as well as the modern westernized world.
Quotes
“Orpheus was permitted to take her away with him on one condition, that he should not turn around to look at her till they should have reached the upper air. Under this condition they proceeded on their way, he leading, she following, through passages dark and steep, in total silence, till they had nearly reached the outlet into the cheerful upper world, when Orpheus, in a moment of forgetfulness, to assure himself that she was still following, cast a glance behind him, when instantly she was borne away.”
Character Notes
More than share a character of specific relatability or worth, I’ll list some of my favorite tales from Bullfinch that you may perhaps also resonate with or find exciting to read. Most, if not all of these are stories you can find online and read another’s interpretation of, if you don’t want to read the book.
Orpheus and Eurydice (honestly, I am currently obsessed with Hadestown, so this has to make the list) - Age of Fable
Echo and Narcissus - Age of Fable
Any of the Northern mythological stories - Age of Fable
Rogero and Brandamante - Legends of Charlemagne
Launcelot of the Lake - Age of Chivalry
Prominent Virtue
Mythology, I think, is so undervalued in the world of public and modern education. Really, we throw out anything that cannot land us a career earning six figures a year, but that is a discussion for another time. Bullfinch’s assortments allow the modern American reader to peruse timeless tales that influence our great, more modern heroes like Rowling, Riordan, Tolkien, Lewis, and countless others. Although one can certainly enjoy Percy Jackson or Harry Potter without ever picking up a book about mythology, I have discovered that with familiar old haunts, one becomes so accustomed to one’s surroundings, we forget that our haunts were inspired by greater legends that meant something to a different audience at a different time, and somehow those legends, when discovered, lend more meaning, virtue, and goodness to the novels we find our homes in.
Individuals enjoy certain genres more than others. I confess to being particularly drawn to myth. But I think there is value in every person, if possible, reading something that has to do with the stories that shaped almost every book we have in the modern world today, even if it only lends inspiration for names or places. Many Greek or Norse names have a connotation, a deeper meaning For example, I discovered that Remus Lupin’s Christian name comes from the Romulus and Remus myth: two brothers who were thrown into the river to be drowned but ended up in the care of a she-wolf who nursed them. Similarly, Lord of the Rings draws from Norse mythology.
Aaand that’s a wrap. Three books don’t seem like much, but I think I’d rather talk about and share my thoughts about each work in a way that speak to fellow readers rather than simply make a list with titles and authors’ names. Hopefully, there will be other articles in the future that have to do with these wonderful gifts we call books.