Newton and Polly

Newton and Polly by Jody Hedlund    400 pages

I have never given the author of one of the world’s most well-known hymns, Amazing Grace, much thought. I guess I assumed it was a priest or a reverend, perhaps even a nun. I was surprised when I saw on the cover of this fictional biography a beautiful young woman and a sailing vessel from the 1700s. One of the things I love about historical fiction is that I learn about things I may have never known.

Newton and Polly is the story of John Newton and Mary “Polly” Catlett. They met when he was seventeen and she was fifteen. Their chemistry was as explosive as a nuclear bomb.

John was a rapscallion as a young man. He liked to drink and carouse, until one cold December night in 1742 when he heard the voice of an angel. The sweet sound came from a young woman, Polly, out wassailing (or caroling as we know it) with some Quaker friends. John was instantly smitten. Thankfully, he followed them as they headed toward home. Seems Polly’s aunt had orchestrated the wassailing as a cover for the release of several slaves. As they were about to be apprehended, John came to their rescue and escorted them to Polly’s parent’s home.

From the moment he laid eyes on her, John was in love, passionately and deeply. Polly returned the feelings. And so began the story of a devoted love that everyone seemed to want to come between.

John misses the ship that he was supposed to take for a job in Jamaica that his father had arranged. And he misses a second ship and another job his father arranges. His lack of ambition worries Polly’s father, who refuses to give Polly’s hand in marriage and bans John from seeing.

One night, John is pressed into service in England’s Royal Navy. He is forced to fight in the war against France. Feeling he’s lost Polly forever, his life descends further and further into sin. Year later, when the ship is nearly destroyed in a storm (more likely a hurricane), John realizes his mistakes. When he is spared, he vows to turn his life over to God. He returns to England and becomes a preacher.

John and Polly’s story is well-written, but moves a bit slow. There isn’t much going on for most of the book except for the two pining over each other. The storm that almost killed John and his shipmates was tense and kept me on the edge of my seat. However, I thought that John’s conversion came a little too quickly. One minute, during the storm, John hates God with all his might; the next he is a devoted follower. It was a little annoying that during he was referred to as John half the time and Newton the other. I did like the story and am giving it 3 out of 5 stars.

I received Newton and Polly from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.