Bruce Marshall (1) (1899–1987)
Author of The White Rabbit
For other authors named Bruce Marshall, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Image credit: Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery (image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)
Series
Works by Bruce Marshall
Associated Works
Our Lady of Beauraing; Father Malachy's Miracle; Padre Ignacio; Quartet in Heaven (1958) — Contributor — 3 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Marshall, Bruce
- Legal name
- Marshall, Lieutenant-Colonel Claude Cunningham Bruce
- Birthdate
- 1899-06-24
- Date of death
- 1987-06-18
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Scotland
UK - Birthplace
- Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Place of death
- Biot, France
- Places of residence
- Paris, France
Cote D’Azur, France - Education
- University of St Andrews
- Occupations
- army officer
novelist
accountant - Organizations
- British Army (WWI, WWII)
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 33
- Also by
- 3
- Members
- 747
- Popularity
- #34,028
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 27
- ISBNs
- 88
- Languages
- 7
Father Campbell's journey often takes him well beyond his Scottish diocese and not just to Rome for his ad limina visits to the Pope every five years to report on the state of his diocese. He makes a couple of fundraising tours of the United States where he becomes acquainted with among others the Bishop of Minnehaha and his sister, a nun who, along with her sisters, supports herself by running a gas station in the Midwest. He has frequent recourse to visit France and Spain and to listen to the critiques of Abbe Bonpapa concerning the state of the church in France which has effectively been overcome by republican hostility to the clergy. In Spain he is appalled by the seeming indifference on the part of the hierarchy to the welfare of the poorest among the Spanish laity. That said, the same clergy is credited with courage and steadfastness to the faith when many of them suffer torture and martyrdom at the hands of the Spanish republican forces during the civil war.
We see Campbell in uniform in World War I as a chaplain to the Roman Catholics among the troops fighting for king and country. In the course of that conflict, he has occasion to attempt to console an ex-Catholic officer and to save him from a firing squad when he refuses to go over the top out of conscientious objection to murdering Germans who have done him no harm.
Campbell is plagued by a recurring cast of characters including a Canon who devotes his career to completing one book in attempt to reconcile theology with philosophy and science. He is not shy about showing off his knowledge or in being dismissive of his fellow clergy and the congregation. He regards the day-to-day tasks of the priesthood as a grind and frequently comes up with justifications for lightening his load.
But the larger issues with the clergy are put on display with their casual attitude in conducting the liturgy, their contempt for the laity, and their lack of collegiality towards their fellow priests. Their worldliness is highlighted by their conduct each time Father Campbell dines out with any number of them and then invariably gets stuck with the check.
The laity, generally speaking, don't come off any better than their betters. The are an ignorant, superstitious bunch for the most part and could be said to keep to their faith because they accept the prudential advice of Pascal whose wager recommended betting on the existence of God because it might be true and you don't want to come up short on the day of judgement.
All in all, "A Thread of Scarlet", whose title is based on a verse from the Song of Solomon is a thoroughly entertaining, if frequently sobering read. Your enjoyment of it may be slightly marred by an unfamiliarity with Scottish slang and popular culture. Also, if you have no Latin or French, or if you're a bit rusty, you will lose something in the (lack of) translation on numerous occasions. In addition, the novel is replete with references to philosophers, theologians, saints and historical personages whom you may need to Google, especially if you are a relatively younger reader.
In any event Marshall who was an accountant by trade, is not only a man of serious learning but an engaging and entertaining storyteller. You will receive both pleasure and profit from the story of Father Campbell.… (more)