A Soldier's Son

Twelve-year-old Carol joins the Mandeville household after his father dies on the voyage home from war. His seven cousins welcome him with gifts from their own possessions, and little Rosebud quickly wins his affection. Yet his calm response to loss puzzles the family. Carol explains his confidence through the Christian Science teachings he learned from Cousin Alicia, to which he also attributes his recovery from a serious illness.

Maude Mary Butler builds this Christian novel around the friction between a child's religious certainty and adult fears. Carol's aunt listens sympathetically, while Uncle Raymond, a rector, opposes the teachings and refuses access to a book Carol wants during another illness. Domestic scenes, bedside conversations and arguments about religious authority give the story its shape. Readers interested in fiction about belief will find a close account of how one household responds when affection, faith and established convictions pull in different directions.