dangermousie | Finding Jesus through a football player's love: discovery of the scary world of Christian Romances

sabaceanbabe, I know I owe you a fic reply re: BSG/Farscape but I’ve been having the most dreadful writer’s block.

I have discovered a book that is absolutely priceless.

It’s called “The Gold Shoe” by Grace Livingston Hill, published 1930. I bought it in a used book-store because I was struck by the beautiful art deco cover (a man in a suit kneeling at the feet of a lady dressed in 30s style outfit, putting a shoe on her foot), and because of the following summary line on the flap jacket: “The simple cottage, the lovely old mother, the family prayers and Thurly, the football player, who was so strong-and so gentle! How empty and meaningless her old life, the cigarettes and the cocktails seemed!” I knew then I simply had to have that gem.

Little did I know this was even a bigger treat. On the back it indicated that Ms. Hill was a writer of wholesome romances. I googled her today and there are many websites for her, usually with many mentions of "Jesus Christ Our Savior", thus “wholesome” is a code word for “religious nut.” It’s apparently a pretty accepted usage, but I had no idea, not being the core audience for this lady. According to her I am Jewish so am going to be frying up on a giant skillet anyway (well, I’ll also be frying for wearing make-up, having had an alcoholic beverage, not viewing my husband as my master, thinking that sex doesn’t have to be limited to procreation, and a whole bunch of other stuff).

Plot: Tasha Endicott, a young socialite meets and falls for Thurly the Preacher, who lives with his dear old Mum. She finds Jesus under his guidance and becomes a good little zombie herself. They are the kind of people who would bitch as Jerry Falwell for ungodly laxness and slackness, and probably, since this is set in 1930, were the kind of people waving plackards at the Scopes trial. This is the kind of book where people refer to Tasha as “worldling”

OK: samples from the book (if you think I am exaggerating):

“But Thurly Macdonald was built of sterner stuff than most men, and he had the fear of God ever before him. He still knew Tasha Endicott was not one he should kiss, and he still could feel the strength of a Power higher than his own weak flesh.”

Hesba (bad woman) and Marget (good woman) discussing money for the Heathen (by that I assume that the main characters in Lucky that I saw yesterday are also going to the Devil because they haven’t discovered Jesus. You know, Hell is going to be mighty crowded):

Hesba: “What would it [money] do? Why feed them, and send them to school and put decent clothes on their back, and teach them to be respectable citizens in the world.’
Marget: “Is that all?”
Hesba: “All? What more do you want? Isn’t that about all one needs in life?”
Marget: “I was thinking you might be saying it [money] would send the knowledge of the Lord Jesus to them.”
Hesba: “Oh that! Of course that goes too. But they have to live you know. They have to have food and clothes.”
Marget: “You think that comes first?”

This is priceless. If only it was a parody! I am having the best time reading this. Surely, she cannot be serious. But she is. The second book of hers in the store had a bit about a man rushing to save his beloved from being in those dreadfully amoral “moving pictures.” The silent kind, where there isn’t even any kissing. But hey, movies are the work of the devil.

Oh, and I picked this icon because it would make Ms. Hill twitch in her grave. Two nekkid unmarried heathens. How much worse can it get? Oh, and cause I like looking at John Abraham's chest.