Trivia - We are briefly returning to 1841 to insert some scenes that explain the events leading up to the death of Joseph Smith and the genesis of the virulent hatred of Mormons which is a theme throughout this book. This set of chapters (Brother John and A Virtuous Woman) are the first of at least two installments.
It is not a spoiler to indicate that Dr. John Bennett's behavior prior to his August 1840 baptism was scandalous. Although not the same exact kind of evil, he has pre-conversion evil in common with Saint Paul and (from the Book of Mormon) Alma the Younger and the initial male converts amongst the Anti-Nephi-Lehites.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
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8 comments:
Bennett was an early champion of the benefits of the tomato, a pioneer in the use of chloroform as an anesthetic, the creator of several breeds of chicken, and the author of numerous articles and two books.
I like the way you wrote this with that niggle of tension that hints at Elvira's uneasiness with JBs attentions and his very smooth approach, like an expert angler setting the hook. By the way, since the earlier chapter were in PDF form and the later came as text attachments, would it be possible for you to shoot me a copy of the book so far? That way when you add things I could paste them in.
I could... but I would like to defer doing that until after I've followed out the implications of the John Bennett insertion, because there are a number of little changes that this will necessitate (for example, in the conversation where Jonathan talks about how many men have desired Elvira, at least she will think that the population of admirers included Bennett).
This chapter read very well. The way you have sketched John Bennett, it is apparent he has honed certain social skills as a cover for less acceptable pursuits. Quite a unusual character according to Wikipedia.
Regarding Chapter 5, it ends with a stranger coming up to the house. That would tend to indicate a lead into the next chapter since it seems to occur at a critical moment. Was that the intention, or was it to allow Joseph to finish the meeting with Elvira and Jonathan?
The previous chapters, 1-5, read very well.
The stranger coming up to the house was merely a device at the time. I don't mind if the reader infers that the stranger is John Bennett. But another purpose was to show that folks are keeping an active watch and that the children are being pulled into this guard duty (which they were at the time).
As I've researched the facts in which I will set the next chapter, they fall together with appalling logic. Now I just have to write the fiction that stitches these events together into the case for why John Bennett and Joseph Smith and Tom Sharp ended up such bitter enemies.
Ok, this is a response, not necessarily a problem, but I don’t remember meeting Brother John before at all (it’s been about a week since I read ch. 5). Please let me know if I’m hacking and slashing too liberally—or else feel free to ignore me! This chapter really hit its stride toward the end, and I enjoyed it a lot!
re Chapter 7 where John proposes: I’m still wondering what she promised to whom, since that wasn’t clear to me then. You might recap in her thoughts what she believes she’s promised to do.
This is great info to know.
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