ODDSFISH; & BY WHAT AUTHORITY?

The third in a series of re-issues of the novels of Monsignor Benson, the English convert whose books were so popular some decades ago, this is an historical romance faithful to the facts, dealing with the Restoration Age. Beautiful writing, adventurous excitement, profound religious and moral issues, colorful personalities and historical events are blended in this novel of espionage in the days of Charles II as they are in all of Benson's historical fictions. Few readers would probably quarrel with the editor's estimate of Benson as ""a good historian, as accurate and vital as he was scholarly and racy"", or with her judgment of the present work as ""a splendid piece of writing at several levels: as an accurate picture of the court and times of King Charles II, and as a very faithful account of this King's death; as a lyrical and moving love story; and a 'thriller' in the best 'cope' and 'robbers' tradition"", all suffused with ""the Faith: the 'Old Religion'"". This is a story for all who enjoy exciting and dramatic historical fiction bearing serious import. BY WHAT AUTHORITY? is the fourth in the series. Its scene is laid in the Elizabethan Age, with the inevitable complications of plot, colorful personalities representative of different religious viewpoints, against the background of historical persecution in Reformation times. Exciting personal and historical episodes imbued with serious philosophical implications can again be found here as in his other works. Drama, suspense, authenticity, adventure, love and the rights of the religious conscience against the abusive demands of the Throne are again ingredients that will move the reader.