Speak to Her Kindly: A Novel of the Anabaptists

Germany, 1534. Paulus has lost his wife Marga to a fanatical cult. She's tired of persecution, tired of running, tired of turning the other cheek. Tired of being a peaceful Anabaptist in a violent world. She wants to fight back. In Muenster, Marga can fight back. The Anabaptists there, led by their fiery prophet-king, Jan Bockelson, have conquered the city. Bockelson leads through visions, charm, and terror. The pitiless prince-bishop, Franz von Waldeck, surrounds the city with his army, grimly determined to have it back. Bockelson promises victory: the saints will slaughter their enemies and then Christ will return. But the city is doomed. Paulus goes to Muenster to win back his wayward wife. Starvation begins. Bockelson's reign of terror tightens. And Paulus is faced with a terrible surprise that shakes his love for Marga to the core. Will this marriage survive the holocaust of hunger, terror, lunacy, doubt, and bloody vengeance? Speak to Her Kindly is a story of Christians in the turbulent 16th century, a story of fanaticism, faith, terror, endurance, peace, and love.