Amazing Grace is one of my favorite all time hymns. Almost everyone knows this tune whether you are a Christian or not. My favorite version is when it is played by bagpipes. I think I had once heard an Adventures in Odyssey episode that described the story of John Newton (as they did with Horatio Spafford’s song). So when I started reading this book about how the inspiration for this song was written I was intrigued. The book was chock full of historical information which I love. The characters are multi dimensional and Mary is a strong character, helping out with the doctor which was uncommon during that time period. Newton’s story is harsh as with anything about slavery usually is. I especially found the scene where he I find it interesting that the couple’s relationship prior to Newton’s leaving was brief and chaste, yet there is a very deep relationship between the two. I really liked the flashback scenes that showed how they first met. The only thing I didn’t like was that, even though I knew it was going to happen, was that just when Mary was finally ready to move on, John comes back. I was a bit miffed because Alex was so good to her and was there when she needed someone, while instead she pines away for someone she hasn’t seen in years. And then the long lost guy ends up winning, while nice guy is left all alone. Other than that I really enjoyed reading this book. I was surprised to learn that Newton didn’t write the last line the song. Ironically I usually only remember the first and last verses when I sing this song.

This book is a great prologue to the movie Amazing Grace (starring Ioan Gruffudd and Albert Finney as John Newton) that is coming out in a few weeks. In fact when I first heard about the movie, I immediately thought about this book. While the movie focuses more on William Wilberforce’s character, this book is a prequel to get you into the mood for the movie. I definitely enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to going back to read her first novel, Finding Anna which focuses on another of my favorite hymns.