9 h 55 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 55 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What would you risk for love when keeping your faith already puts your family in danger?
In the France of Louis XIV, the crown presses hard on Protestants. Families face a cruel choice between belief and safety. John Bloundelle-Burton sets The Scourge of God in this divided world, where religious conflict reaches into private life and makes loyalty a dangerous test.
Love crosses the lines that faith draws between people. Affection offers no simple escape: it carries risks for those who love and those around them. This historical romance puts action and peril at its heart, asking what people will give up to hold fast to a belief—or to one another.
What you’ll discover
- A kingdom divided Enter a Catholic France where the king seeks one faith and one law.
- Belief under pressure Face the painful choice between protecting a family and keeping a deeply held faith.
- Love across religious lines Follow a romance made dangerous by the beliefs that divide families and loyalties.
- Loyalty put to trial Consider what devotion demands when personal bonds meet the force of royal power.
- Adventure before introspection Enjoy an older storytelling style that favors action, danger, and period atmosphere over inward reflection.
Who will love it
Readers who love historical romance, hidden inheritances and secret births, and vivid pictures of the court of Louis XIV. It also suits anyone curious about the Huguenots.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A confession unsettles Martin's inheritance
- Martin chooses truth over his fortune
- Persecution gives way to answering cruelty
- A rescue crosses the religious divide
- Apparent safety hides a rebel trap
- Martin's faith protects them both
- War closes around Martin's mission
- Neither faith can excuse cruelty
- Honor guides Martin through divided loyalties
Who’s who
- Martin AshurstA young English Protestant raised in France who gives up a fortune to find the true heir of the Rochebazon family.
- Urbaine DucaireBaville's fair haired adopted daughter, who believes herself a loyal Catholic and is saved by the man she once distrusted.
- BavilleThe Intendant of Languedoc, a feared ruler who is harsh to rebels and especially tender toward his adopted daughter.
- Jean CavalierA young Camisard leader, once a baker's apprentice, who fights to win freedom of worship for his people.
- Pastor André BuscarletAn elderly Protestant minister of Montvert who begs both sides for mercy and shelters Martin in his small house.
- Madame de MaintenonThe king's secret wife, once a Protestant, who wants the Rochebazon wealth for the Church and keeps the family secret.
- La Grande MarieA tall prophetess whose visions the Camisards trust, and whose words decide the fate of two prisoners.
- MontrevelA marshal of France sent to crush the rebels, who answers defeat with violence against helpless townspeople.
Formats and delivery
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- Hardcover
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The Scourge of God
by John Bloundelle-Burton · 1898
A dying princess confesses she holds a title that belongs to another, and her English nephew sets out to find him.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What would you do if a dying woman told you that the fortune you were about to inherit rested on a lie? In Paris in 1701, a young Englishman named Martin Ashurst sits at the bedside of his aunt, the Princesse de Rochebazon.
The Scourge of God at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 35 min4 h 25 min fast, 6 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 80,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1898by John Bloundelle-Burton
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A dying princess confesses a forty year secret
The story opens in the great Paris house of the Princesse de Rochebazon. Many call her a saint. Yet she waits for one visitor above all, her English nephew Martin Ashurst.
While she waits, Madame de Maintenon, the king's secret wife, comes to plead with her. The princess has promised half a million pistoles to Martin, and Madame wants that money for the Church and the king's treasury. The princess refuses. She says she cannot die with a lie in her heart.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1898
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 6 h 25 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Bloundelle-Burton, John. The Scourge of God. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-scourge-of-god.
Bloundelle-Burton, J. (2026). The scourge of God. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-scourge-of-god (Original work published 1898)
Bloundelle-Burton, John. The Scourge of God. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-scourge-of-god.
@book{bloundelleburton2026scourge,
author = {Bloundelle-Burton, John},
title = {The Scourge of God},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-scourge-of-god},
note = {First published 1898}
}
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What is The Scourge of God about?
It follows Martin Ashurst, an Englishman who learns on his aunt's deathbed that a hidden Protestant is the rightful heir of the House of Rochebazon. His search leads him into the Camisard rising in Languedoc and into love with Urbaine.
Who are the Camisards in the book?
They are Protestant mountaineers of the Cévennes who rose against persecution in 1702. Led in the story by Jean Cavalier and Roland, they fight royal troops from mountain caves and sing psalms as they go into battle.
Why is the novel called The Scourge of God?
It is the name the persecuted Protestants give to Louis XIV, who they believe sweeps away those who love God. The title also points to the king's wife, Madame de Maintenon, whom many blame for the policy.
The author
John Bloundelle-Burton
1850–1917 · English novelist
John Bloundelle-Burton was an English novelist, born in 1850 and died in 1917. He wrote fiction in English, including the novel The Scourge of God. His life spanned the second half of the nineteenth century and the early years of the twentieth century.
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