Book Review - Luther and Katharina

Luther and Katharina: A Novel of Love and Rebellion by Jody Hedlund is about Martin Luther and his wife, Katharina.  Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation in Germany in the 16th century.   Luther was a former monk and preached against the Catholic church.  He was considered an enemy of the church.  He thought he could be killed at any time.

Katharina von Bora was a nun at the time she read Luther's writings. She became convinced that she could still serve God while not living a cloistered life.   Katharina and some of the other nuns decided to run away from the abbey to start a new life.   

Luther became responsible for the runaway nuns.   His goal was to find them a "suitable" man to marry or at least become employed by a family.   Katharina's goal was to get married and have children.   It did not seem like they would be suitable partners in love and ministry to each other.  Love bloomed between Luther and Katharina in the midst of external persecution and their own internal reservations about each other.  

There are many parts of the story that stand out.   One thing is Katharina's prayers.  Although she left the abbey, it still took her time to shed her past life.    Her prayers in the book shows how her relationship with God was maturing.

I loved this story because of the history.   I loved this story because of the spiritual and emotional transformation of Luther and Katharina.  I did not know much about Martin Luther.   While reading this book, I searched for more information about Luther and the Reformation. Historical fiction is at its best for me when I want to go beyond the story and read the history. 

I have already recommended this book to my local library who plans to order this book for circulation.  I have talked about it with my friends.   Do I like this book?  Absolutely!

You will want to read more books by Jody Hedlund.  Go to her website to discover her other books.    The Hearts of Faith series are about real people (missionaries and preachers).  You will want to dig deeper to find out more about the people she writes about.

Ratings:  4 stars

I received this book from Blogging for Books for my opinion about this story.

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