The Misunderstandings of Charity Brown by Elizabeth Laird

Charity Brown, raised in a strict fundamentalist Christian sect, is beginning to ponder the meaning of life and God.

The Misunderstandings of Charity Brown by Elizabeth Laird. Macmillan, 2024, 334 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: ages 12-15

Charity Brown is recovering from a miserable year. The misery was mostly due to polio, which required months in a London hospital with very few visitors. During her brief time back in school before the term ended, sympathy for her illness quickly wore off, to be replaced by normal hostility when Charity resumed her duty to lead her classmates to the Lord. She belongs to the “Lucasites,” a sect that requires modest dress, long hair, strict Sabbath observance, austere worship with no musical instruments, and no theater or cinema. In spite of all the “no’s” her family life is generally happy and warm, even though her big brother Ted can be infuriating and her sisters Faith and Hope are away at work or school most of the time. As the youngest sibling, Charity faces a life of loneliness until something big happens: Reginald Spendlove, a fellow Lucasite, has passed away and left his big house, with all furnishings, to the Browns.

The size of the inheritance is breathtaking, and Charity’s dad concludes that the Lord intends their new home as a refuge for the weary and heavy-laden. There are plenty of those, thanks to the World War so recently concluded. Ted has his own ideas about fixing the Rover in the garage and converting the attic to his own private quarters. Charity is eyeing the girl next door—could this be a friend? Even though, as it turns out, the girl is Jewish and not interested in any form of conversion? Simply meeting Rachel, much less becoming friends with her, is complicated by Mother’s increasing headaches, Ted’s worrisome signs of rebellion, Faith’s engagement to an Anglican, and Charity’s own growing doubts about truths she never before questioned.

The Misunderstandings of Charity Brown is semi-autobiographical, as explained in the Author Note. Though there’s no such group as Lucasites, Elizabeth Laird grew up in a similar Christian sect and experienced the same ambivalences about what she was taught. As such the novel deals authentically with religious doubt. Charity’s description of her church can sound like satire:

Above all, we had to be Sexually Pure in thought, word and deed. (Lucasites can have sex, obviously. We’d die off if we didn’t! But you have to be properly married first, with babies in mind).

But even though, by story’s end, Charity has almost decided this form of religion is not for her, the author portrays her family and other church members with affection and even respect. Her father is a loving, sincere, and courageous Christian who can preach impromptu on a street corner and attract—if not actually convert—incorrigible skeptics. Charity learns not to judge her own people too harshly, even that stuck-up Tabitha Stebbins, who insists on getting baptized on the same day and stealing some of the glory. Truth to tell, Charity can be stuck-up herself. Her transition from a rather priggish, self-righteous do-gooder to a more honest and accepting person generally strikes the right notes, if rather deliberate by the end.

Parents may not be comfortable with some details, like the “enormous crush” Charity recalls having on a mannish female counselor at summer camp. If this is a lesbian hint it isn’t followed up, though Charity’s Aunt Violet may lean in that direction. Sex is mentioned, though not overdone; more troubling may be Dad’s admission that he can’t believe in hell. Charity’s conclusion that “You must love your neighbor as yourself” is certainly true, but it seems likely she will not center that love in Christ. Indeed, in the thicket of do’s and don’t’s that comprise her religion, does she even know Him?

Still, the book raises worthwhile questions that some readers may not be ready to encounter. Charity’s voice is authentic and captivating with touches of humor, and details of London life of the 1950s add interest to her story. I would recommend it be read together with room to talk about it. Much as we parents hate to admit it, our children must own faith for themselves, just as we did, and their path may not look exactly like ours.

Bottom line: a thoughtful, entertaining read, though perhaps not for everyone.

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Reviews: We can’t force our kids to believe but we can certainly encourage and educate them. Some of our favorite books for teaching the faith are The Ology, The Radical Book for Kids, and The Biggest Story. Teens should read Confronting Christianity. And though it’s not for everyone, The Holy Ghost by John Hendrix provokes both laughter and serious thought.
• Reviews: Genuine Christian conversion is hard to portray in a novel, but see our reviews of Everything Sad Is Untrue and You Bring the Distant Near.
• Resource: Speaking of difficult subjects, see our Reading and Talking about Sexuality booklist.
• Reflection: It’s easy to overemphasize some aspects of Christianity, like lifestyle choices. This can be destructive; see Josh Harris and the Perils of Idolatry.

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