Ben Brightboots was a real cat that lived in F.R.H.'s parents' home, quite an aristocratic cat, and very lively. As fast as he was, the events were faster and overtook Ben. Reading this story, you want to pick him up and stroke his neck, but while we cannot hold Ben, there is truth here of the greatest value, that we can hold and keep in our hearts. F.R.H. finished this story of Ben, but only after she died was it published by her sister Maria, who also added at the end several more little stories, poems, and hymns by Frances. This book is taken from the five-volume, 8,014-page edition of The Complete Works of Frances Ridley Havergal, an edition prepared over several years by a team of people in the U.S., England, and Canada.
Frances Ridley Havergal, the daughter of a Church of England minister, is well known for her great hymns of consecration including the famous Take My Life and Let It Be. She also wrote hymn melodies, religious tracts, and works for children.
In 1852/3 she studied in the Louisenschule, Dusseldorf, and at Oberkassel. Otherwise she led a quiet life, not enjoying consistent good health; she travelled, in particular to Switzerland. She supported the Church Missionary Society.
She died of peritonitis at Caswell Bay on the Gower Peninsula in Wales. Her sisters saw much of her work published posthumously. Havergal College, a private girls' school in Toronto, is named after her. The composer Havergal Brian adopted the name as a tribute to the Havergal family.
... Show more