Abstract

The Blacksmith Preacher

This article focuses on the book "The Life and Letters of Robert Collyer," by John Haynes Holmes. In certain respects the life of Robert Collyer, born amid conditions as humble as those that greeted Abraham Lincoln, was typically American, even though he was a Yorkshire lad and came to this country only at the age of twenty-eight. The story of the events that led to Collyer's decision to preach and later to emigrate are told by Holmes with full appreciation of the dramatic quality in their sequence. The wonderful story of Chicago's growth and spirit, of joyous service with Unity Church, and of valiant, unwearying work made imperative by the Civil War and reconstruction days, is told by Mr. Holmes with vivid descriptive power and just appreciation.