“Treason: A Catholic Novel of Elizabethan England” by Dena Hunt
Sophia Institute Press, Manchester, N.H., 2013, 184 pages, grades 8 and higher.
During the late 1500s Queen Elizabeth I brutally forced the English people to join the religion she had deemed appropriate, the Anglican Church. Anyone not worshipping at the altar the Queen had erected was subject to fines, imprisonment, brutal punishments and capital punishment.
Elizabeth hated Catholics with a particular vehemence and hunted them down with secret police. The priest-catchers then split all monies, land and properties they confiscated from the victims with the Queen. After having her cake and eating it too, Elizabeth usually had the Catholics executed. The Queen basically decreed that all Englishmen had to profess the Anglican religion to be considered patriots. If you refused the Anglican Church, you were a traitor to the country.
Dena Hunt has written a chilling novel about these dreadful times in England. The name of the book is “Treason: A Catholic Novel of Elizabethan England.”
In the spring of 1581, a small craft is quickly rowed to the southern coast of England. A young man, Father Stephen Long, jumps from the boat, landing in the sand. Turning to the two grizzled sailors rowing the craft, he imparts his priestly blessing. With a quick smile they both say “Adieu, Pere, now hurry.”(p.8)
With this, the young priest, disguised in work clothes, makes his way to the nearest town. Since Queen Elizabeth has declared that all Catholic priests and lay faithful practicing the faith are traitors to England, the priest must proceed with great caution.
But even in these brutal times, the Catholic religion is still treasured by many. Father Long quickly meets an underground network of faithful Catholics and is taken to a safe house. He is temporarily safe. But the henchmen of the Queen prowl the entire length and breadth of England seeking Catholics refusing to accept the state religion.
Queen Elizabeth has the cunning of her mother Anne Boleyn and the brutality of her father, Henry VIII. This causes her relentless, remorseless attack on anyone opposing her in religious matters. Her cunning is most shown in the impoverishing fines she imposes on the “recusants,” Catholics refusing to attend Anglican services. This way she eventually gains all their money and traumatizes other Catholics thinking about disobeying her. The brutality is shown by her hunting down priests like Father Long and then torturing and executing them. But many recusants refuse to obey the Queen and are involved in hiding Father Long while he quickly celebrates Mass and hears confessions.
However, as the pressures from the Crown mount, wavering people see that it is in their interest to join the religion of “good Queen Bess.” The priest-catchers soon begin to focus on the families shielding Father Long and are aided by informants. They lurk about and then violently spring their trap. What happens?
Is Father Long captured and executed by Queen Elizabeth? What happens to those helping him minister to the frightened Catholics in England? What would it be like to have an evil queen making life and death decisions about religion? How should people act? How do the people of England respond? To find out the answers to these questions, go to the library or simply purchase the book, “Treason” by Dena Hunt.
While the first part of this book is somewhat slow, the climax is gripping. Hunt portrays some people just going with the current to avoid problems with Elizabeth’s government. But she also shows people acting with heroic love and courage in the face of brutal religious subjugation. Though this novel is set about 430 years ago, the issues underlying the book are disturbingly modern. Let us all pray for the grace of perseverance.
