Come Rack! Come Rope! is a classic novel of the Elizabethan persecutions. Robin and all his family circle are recusants—those who refuse to attend the new authorized church services of the Queen and instead hear Catholic masses in secret. Life is difficult, but not impossible. He has even found love with an old childhood friend. However, all this changes when his father informs him that they'll be receiving communion at the church on Easter. After much struggle, he defies his father and eventually leaves England to study for the priesthood with the goal of returning to help the Catholics of England. Which he does, but as we all know, there is no such thing as safety for fugitive priests. A wanted man the moment he sets foot on his native shore, he can only watch as his friends are rounded up one by one. It's only a matter of time before he gets captured himself, and that's when his battle will truly begin.

A stirring novel of adventure and Popery. Reading it, you begin to understand why there are so many British saints from this period (some of whom we even get to meet in the book). Highly recommended for fans of good Catholic novels or Edwardian historical fiction. ( )

3943. Come Rack! Come Rope! by Robert Hugh Benson (read 11 Oct 2004) I first heard of this book (published in 1912) when I was in grade school, when older siblings of mine and my Dad were reading it. It is laid in Elizabethan England between 1579 and 1588, and is based on factual events except that the hero and heroine are fictional. The hero is a priest who has fearsome times evading the persecutors and ministering to the harassed Catholics. The ending is dramatic and extremely moving and inspiring. A most worthwhile book. ( )