He who walks with the wise grows wise

First Wives’ Club / Old Wives’ Tales / For Richer, For Poorer

Clare Heath-Whyte

One way to cover more biographical territory is to read short life stories. From London a pastor’s wife, Clare Heath-Whyte, tells of wives of influential Christian men. First Wives’ Club reviews Mrs. Luther and Mrs. Calvin and others in the 16th century. Old Wives’ Tales for the 18th century covers Wesley women, along with Sarah Edwards. In For Richer, For Poorer, the 19th century, she shows how William Wilberforce’s wife Barbara was not popular with his friends but a huge help to him in the abolition of slavery. The author also reveals their spiritual journeys, such as Minny Shaftesbury’s. “God transformed Minny from a selfish socialite to a servant-hearted and socially aware supporter of her famous husband and his campaign,” she writes. The author shows God arranged these marriages for purposes larger than they could fully see in their lifetimes.

Five Pioneer Missionaries

John Thornbury

Five Pioneer Missionaries was first offered by Banner of Truth in 1965, with republication several times. Five authors cover the lives of some well-known missionaries such as David Brainerd and lesser known ones like John Eliot. Eliot was one of the first Puritans to come to New England in 1631. As a pastor to British settlers, he started visiting Algonquin Indians near present-day Roxbury, Mass. As many came to salvation and spiritual transformation, they built schools and developed praying town settlements. Eliot translated the Bible into the Algonquin language. Back in England, the better-known Richard Baxter noted of Eliot: “There was no man on earth whom I honoured above him.”

A Fistful of Heroes

John Pollock

The late John Pollock was a prolific British biographer, giving concise life summaries in A Fistful of Heroes, first published in 1988. He offers 14 biographies, about 10 pages each, in categories of liberators from slavery, social justice reformers, and evangelists. Some are well known, such as William Wilberforce and the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. Others are less famous, such as Elizabeth Fry and her pioneer work in prison reform in England. Pollock also wrote longer biographies of some of these subjects, for readers who want more detail.

Men of Destiny / Men of Purpose

Peter Masters

London pastor Peter Masters introduces readers to lesser-known role models in two books, Men of Destiny, first published in 1968, and Men of Purpose, 1973. Like Pollock, Masters majors in British stories but also includes Americans and the Russian Czar Alexander Pavlovich. He also includes some Christian scientists such as Lord Kelvin and Michael Faraday, as well as Henry Heinz of ketchup fame. His entry on Daniel Defoe is fascinating, as Defoe was a prodigal son from a Puritan family. Defoe’s return to Christ included his famous Robinson Crusoe novel. “Many have regarded him not only as the father of modern journalism, but also as the true father of the modern novel,” suggests Masters. He is pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle where Charles Spurgeon preached more than 100 years ago.