Ada Barnett, The Man on the Other Side
It started for me when I read Charles Williams’ Descent Into Hell. It was a compelling and realistic description of the spiritual world and spiritual struggle.. I continued to be drawn to a particular 19th Century genre for which I have many examples and no name.
Among these is Ada Barnett’s The Man on the Other Side. The book explores how communities recover from personal and national trauma, the spiritual dimensions of place, and the battle in the world between good and evil. Barnett deals with other issues, ones we might have thought obscure only a few years ago, but are suddenly pressing, like classism and nationalism.
Does the good we do outlive us? Are those who have died before us our allies for good and for ill? How do we cooperate with God on both sides of the veil in the struggle for the good of the world. In Barnett’s book, the Hebrews 13 “Great Cloud of Witness” is not far off as we might believe, and that turns out to be a good thing.
The Man from the Other Side on Gutenburg.org http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60331