The Story Of Katie Luther by Gretchen Ronnevik

Katharina Luther receives her due as the industrious helpmeet of the world-changing reformer.

The Story of Katie Luther: The Nun Who Escaped to Freedom by Gretchen Ronnevik. Crossway, 2024. 142 pages.

• Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12
• Recommended For: Ages 8-12

She was born into a noble family near Lippendorf, Germany, but even though he was titled with the German honorific von Bora, Katharina’s father wasn’t rich. After his wife died he could not afford to raise and educate all his children and wards, so Katie left home for good at the tender age of five. One advantage of growing up in cloisters was that she received an education, but the downside was the expectation that she become a nun and devote her life to sacred service. Katie was ill-suited to a rigid routine shut off from the world: “She had such big feelings but felt she had nowhere to put them.” That’s why the new teaching by a renegade monk named Martin Luther felt like her world opening up to fresh breezes.

The story of how she and other nuns were smuggled out of the cloister in a grocery wagon and deposited on Luther’s doorstep was the colorful beginning to Katie’s new life. When too many men, including the Reformer, declared her as strong-willed and arrogant, she boldly expressed her desire to marry Luther himself. Well, why not? He married her out of duty but came to love her. And she proved to be a perfect helpmeet for him: industriously clearing away the clutter of his domestic life and making a home not only for their six children but also the many students and foster kids who lodged with them. 

“Her ordinary days included cleaning rooms cooking food, doing dishes, weeding the gardens comforting the sick, making clothes for the orphans in her care, and teaching them the miracle of ordinary life, given to them in Christ Jesus.” Her life included sickness, turmoil, and tragedy. She outlived three of her children as well as her husband, but her faith never faltered. This biography fills a gap in Reformation history with its account of a devoted woman who tended the home fires of a consequential man. The engaging text draws even elementary-age readers and a generous sprinkling of sidebars fills in helpful context.

Considerations: None.

Bottom Line:  An informative and readable biography for upper elementary grades.

Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Book Review: Simonetta Carr’s Church History (starred review) is a priceless resource that includes many significant women. Courageous World Changers features one-page biographies of 50 women who lived for Christ.
• Book List: 30 Women in Church History has more resources about significant Christian women.
• Resource: It’s never too late to celebrate! See Megan’s Reformation Day Holiday Traditions. And don’t miss her Reformation Day Homemade Doughnuts.

You may purchase The Story of Katie Luther from Amazon.

You can also purchase this volume with its companion volume from Westminster Books.

As with many books, we received a free copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair, unbiased review.