I finished reading A Case of Conscience, by Isabel C. Clarke, last night.  It was an enjoyable read, and besides being entertaining, it makes you think.  The story involves a love triangle between a man and two half-sisters.  You could almost call it a love square, because the Catholic faith is presented as a very solid obstacle to love and marriage.  The handling of this issue is quite interesting, as it is vitally important, yet many people think nothing of mixed marriages today.

Read the full review of Isabel C Clarke’s A Case of Conscience on our Novels page.  (Click on the link above.)

I recently bought an original copy of A Case of Conscience by Isabel C. Clarke.  This author wrote many well-received Catholic novels, and I look forward to reading, reviewing, and featuring more of her books on this site in the future.

I bought my copy of A Case of Conscience for a very reasonable price on Ebay, and began eagerly reading it last night.

Published by Benziger Brothers in 1927, A Case of Conscience is 370 pages long, and I am now on page 73.  This is not a fast-paced book, yet it is not cumbersome to read; the old-fashioned style just takes a little getting used to.

So far, the story takes place in Italy, at a lake-side villa where nineteen-year-old Elizabeth  lives with her ailing father(John), to whom she is very devoted, having no one else in the world since her mother left them both when Elizabeth was only a few weeks old.  When Elizabeth’s father dies, she decides to go see her mother, who lives in England with a second husband and a daughter, Opal, Elizabeth’s half-sister.

At the same time, handsome Timothy, a very distant relative, has inherited John’s ancestral land in England, and finds himself drawn to both Elizabeth and Opal.  He is a lax Catholic, while Elizabeth is a devout Catholic.

Certainly one can see the potential for twists, complications, and the voice of conscience . . .

We shall see, as the reading continues!