Setting: Netherlands
Time Period: 1531

What would you do if religion cost you your family? In the Netherlands in 1531, that could very well be the case if you weren’t Catholic. “Sword of Peace” by Louisa M. Bauman follows the religious climate in Amsterdam with a story about a young Catholic woman, her Protestant friend and how religion changed her home, friends and future.

The story was very intriguing and gave a lot of history between Catholicism and Protestantism in the Netherlands and really, all over Europe during the reign of Charles V.  The story had a bit of adventure as the Protestant Believers fled from place to place and evaded the authorities. What I really liked about the book was how the author made the heroine a Catholic to reflect the tension and differences between faiths in that time. I felt you could really understand why Catholics had a hard time converting to Protestantism by viewing that world through Anna’s eyes. After all, what was so wrong about going to a certain church, if it meant staying alive?

The history in this book was great, but even so, I have a confession to make … I really didn’t care for the heroine. I know! That probably sounds awful, but I had a hard time with how her personality was portrayed. She spent most of the book fearful and helpless; had a great husband, but was clingy and judgemental towards the other Protestants…even after she claimed to have converted to Christianity. There could have been a lot of potential with her backstory, but I didn’t see the growth and change by the end of the book. All I saw was whining. I did love a lot of the other characters and thought they were well developed and likeable, but I’m not sure I would recommend the book based on the main character.

Conclusion: “Sword Of Peace” gave an interesting outlook on the history of faith in the Netherlands. I loved that part of it and felt that it gave me a deeper knowledge of the persecuted church and what Christians in other centuries faced just to be a Christian. I also enjoyed the sub-characters and what they added to the story. For those two reasons, I gave the book a three star rating and not less.