CFI novelists make strong showing on list of "LDS Classics"
BYU English professor Richard Cracroft has published a list in Meridian Magazine of what he considers the "classics" of LDS-based fiction. The criteria he used were simple: the books must be well-written, reader-tested novels that "will delight, uplift, inspire and entertain most LDS readers."
Dr. Cracroft wrote, "These novels have risen to the top of the heap as the books that students like to read, discuss and write about."
Several novels that Dr. Cracroft selected are published by Cedar Fort Incorporated. They include the works of two long-established authors, Lee Nelson and Marilyn Brown, as well as the novels of two up-and-coming writers, Chad Daybell and Alan Mitchell, whose efforts have made an impact on the LDS market.
The following are the CFI novels Dr. Cracroft specifically mentioned:
* The Storm Testament by Lee Nelson. This prolific author's crowning achievement is this remarkable eight-volume tale that follows Dan Storm and his family from Missouri to the Rocky Mountains. Their adventures among the Mountain Men and the Indians are filled with unforgettable scenes. This timeless Western series has touched the lives of countless readers.
* The Wine-Dark Sea of Grass by Marilyn Brown. The noted author of "The Earthkeepers Trilogy" and "Statehood" has recently written a fact-based novel about the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the challenges of plural marriage.
Dr. Cracroft writes, "Some people just don't like novels about massacres and polygamy; this is a wonderful handling of both sensitive topics."
* The Emma Trilogy by Chad Daybell. These exciting time-travel novels follow the adventures of a modern-day family whose teenage children find themselves transported to different points in the LDS Church's history -- and future. Each volume subtlety teaches one of the three missions of the church.
-- An Errand for Emma places Emma Dalton among the pioneers in the 1860s, where Brigham Young lends her a hand in solving a long-lost family mystery.
-- Doug's Dilemma begins as a missionary novel, but quickly turns into an intense thriller as Doug Dalton finds himself in 1944, where he must save his grandfather during World War II.
-- Escape to Zion ties together the trilogy in stunning fashion as Emma enters the future just a few months before the Second Coming. She survives the evils of Salt Lake City with the help of one of the Three Nephites and travels to New Jerusalem. While there she takes part in the grand meeting at Adam-ondi-Ahman and witnesses the Second Coming.
* Angel of the Danube by Alan Mitchell. This charming novel is the retrospective missionary journal of Elder Barry Monroe, lately of the Austria Vienna Mission. Elder Monroe attempts to come to grips with the gap between an ideal mission and a mission where one's message is constantly rejected.
This is a funny but basically serious novel about a young man's salvation journey/mission. It is one of the surprisingly few missionary novels in Mormon literature, and it is certainly one of the best.
Shopping Cart
New Releases
Specials
Help
