Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Hour Before Dawn
    Unavailable
    The Hour Before Dawn
    Unavailable
    The Hour Before Dawn
    Ebook233 pages4 hours

    The Hour Before Dawn

    By Penelope Wilcock

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    At St Alcuin's Monastery, in 14th century Yorkshire, Abbot John is in shock after learning of the rape of his sister and murder of his mother. The refugee Father William is discovering his own vulnerability. As they support their leader and their barely-welcome guest, the community of brothers undertake the task of nurturing the grace of God in their souls. The Hour before Dawn explores the psychological impact of grief and trauma, and the possibility of healing. Wilcock deftly weaves themes of the resurrection and ascension throughout the story, exploring the process of having survived suffering, but not yet having moved on. Based on solid historical research, Wilcock's representation of monastic life is authentic, rich with poetic prose and a sense of time and place.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLion Fiction
    Release dateJul 17, 2015
    ISBN9781782641513
    Unavailable
    The Hour Before Dawn
    Author

    Penelope Wilcock

    Pen Wilcock is the author of The Hawk and the Dove series and many other books such as In Celebration of Simplicity and 100 Stand-Alone Bible Studies. She has many years of experience as a Methodist minister and has worked as a hospice and school chaplain. She has five adult daughters and lives in Hastings, East Sussex. She writes a successful blog: Kindred of the Quiet Way.

    Read more from Penelope Wilcock

    Related to The Hour Before Dawn

    Related ebooks

    Historical Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Uneasy Yoke

      Sep 12, 2018

      The Uneasy Yoke
      5 min read

    • Article

      (Extra)ordinary Women

      Jan 24, 2020

      (Extra)ordinary Women
      2 min read

    • Article

      Letters To The Editor

      Nov 27, 2020

      I I believe b that we are living in the end times as we read about in all the books of the Gospel and listen to what Jesus had said. He warned of pestilences and famines. I believe that Covid-19 is one of the pestilences, as well as all the locusts t

      7 min read

    • Article

      Drink To The Dead

      Sep 29, 2020

      Gayle Force, 66, from St Austell, Cornwall Standing in the 168-year-old brewery, I felt the presence of a monk. The spirit was hovering right behind me on the site where he had worked brewing beer centuries ago. I took a quick snap – and when I loo

      4 min read

    • Article

      Q&A Elaine Pagels

      May 23, 2019

      Q&A Elaine Pagels
      5 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • Article

      Commentary: Grappling with Catholicism

      Mar 8, 2019

      I am still a practicing Catholic. To write that now seems to beg an explanation. How can I continue to profess the faith within the bounds of an institution so thoroughly corrupted by the gravest of sins? How can I accept the host from the hands of m

      4 min read

    • Article

      Tales Of A Country Parish: From The Vicar Of Savernake Forest

      Feb 9, 2022

      Short Books £12.99 Many of us, during the darkest days of the pandemic when churches were locked, clung to a regular online holy event to guide us through the grimness. We weren’t just watching the streamed Sunday service from the local vicarage’s ki

      2 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • Article

      Book of Uncommon Prayer

      May 3, 2023

      Book of Uncommon Prayer
      3 min read

    • Article

      Treasure-houses Of The Nation

      Mar 30, 2023

      MY CHURCH TURNS 900 this month. Nine hundred years is a lot. You feel the transience of your time very strongly when your institution celebrates its nonacentennial. Even my long-reigning predecessor, Rector Abbiss, who finished his 65-year incumbency

      3 min read

    • Article

      Blood Ritual

      Jun 5, 2023

      Blood Ritual
      20 min read

    • Article

      Alice Today Eva Lewarne

      Sep 20, 2023

      Alice Today Eva Lewarne
      5 min read

    • Article

      Finding My Family

      Oct 7, 2020

      Finding My Family
      7 min read

    • Article

      Made With Love

      Dec 13, 2023

      Made With Love
      5 min read

    • Article

      Readers' Letters

      Jul 26, 2023

      SIR: I have just celebrated my 80th birthday and been much acclaimed by my family and friends. Even the government has got in on the act, as it has increased my state pension by 25p a week. Unfortunately, my village shop has hardly anything to offer

      5 min read

    • Article

      Christ In The Camps

      Jun 27, 2019

      Christ In The Camps
      5 min read

    • Article

      Q&A with Bonnie

      Apr 21, 2023

      ◗ Elizabeth Zott is a character we would all love to know or even become. Where did such a personality spring from? Fury! I started Lessons in Chemistry about seven years ago. I’d just come out of a meeting, irritated by some garden variety sexism, a

      6 min read

    • Article

      A Marriage Made in Heaven

      May 19, 2020

      A Marriage Made in Heaven
      8 min read

    • Article

      Pella Oasis In The Wilderness

      Nov 26, 2021

      Pella Oasis In The Wilderness
      6 min read

    • Article

      Turn To The Angels

      Mar 17, 2020

      How do you cope on days when nothing is going right – from the moment you get up! When that happens, take a moment to breathe deeply and ask your guardian angel to reset your day. I’m having one of those days today, I trod on a wet hairball left by m

      3 min read

    Reviews for The Hour Before Dawn

    4.5/5

    10 ratings4 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This is the fifth in The Hawk and the Dove series. Abbott John is still new at his job when he gets tragic news regarding his family. William proves his worth, and another brother joins the monastery. The message in this one is strong about handling adversities and relying on God to do so. I was a little uncomfortable with the ending, but I suppose that is the reality of monastic life.
    • 5/5
      Title: The Hour Before Dawn (The Hawk and the Dove #5)Author: Penelope WilcockPages: 208Year: 2015Publisher: Lion HudsonMy rating is 5 stars.Readers are once again returned to the 14th century monastery of St. Alcuin’s in Yorkshire, England in this fifth entry of The Hawk and the Dove series. Most of the characters from the prior four books make return appearances, but the story centers around Abbot John and Father William.Abbot John has just been in his position as head of St. Alcuin’s for about a month when he receives devastating news that his mother has been murdered and his sister gang-raped. These women lived together and were thought by some to be witches, but they were really healers and midwives. The abbot is devastated by this news and is numb with shock. He travels to see his sister with Father William as a companion. His sister blames what happened on Abbot John for not being home to protect her and their mother. The abbot struggles with an all-consuming guilt, Father William consoles, cajoles and finally sternly counsels the abbot.As readers we follow the developing relationship between Father William and Abbot John as well as the abbot’s sister toward both of these men. Also, along the way one of Father William’s monks from his former priory is found horribly disfigured. Again, Abbot John takes on more guilt at not helping this monk the first time they met (in book four of the series). Father William again must pull him from the black hole of despair. Readers will also see Abbot John begin to gain assurance in his role as leader of the monastery. He returns the favor of counseling when William is struggling with an issue.Just as an FYI, I think this series should be read in order as the story continues from one book to the next. The spiritual insight and truths shared are wonderful. The author writes with great insight into human emotions and how Christ would have us live our lives. The relationship between the monks shows mercy, compassion, jealousy, sadness, love and many other emotions we all experience. Above all, readers see the monks trying their best to live life as Christ like examples. I can’t wait to read book six titled, Remember Me.Disclosure of Material Connection: The above is my opinion. I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
    • 5/5
      Another excellent entry in the series. The time spread is not as long as I thought. This one focuses on Father John and the crisis of faith brought on by the death of his mother and rape of his sister because of false witch accusations. Father William is starting to grow his soul, also.
    • 4/5
      Beautiful story with much wisdom and spirituality, exploring that "bardo" between a tragedy and eventual healing from grief. Father John, now Abbot of St. Alcuin's Monastery after Father Peregrine's passing, has suffered a personal tragedy. Accused as witches by the villagers, his mother has been killed, his sister violated and their home razed. Now fragile, he sinks to the depths of hurt, self-blame, and despair. With the help of Father William, another monastic, he gropes his way towards the light and back to equilibrium and calm acceptance through the two of them forgetting themselves and helping someone in dire need. Abbot John uses his skills as former Infirmarian. Father William experiences an epiphany of his own.I was immersed in that medieval monastic world. I miss Father Peregrine. This was another of Penelope Wilcock's wonderful The Hawk and the Dove series, with her same strong characters, and lessons for us. I appreciated we were spared the modern family; the novel plunged us right into monastery life.