Joy Hedlund’s Luther and Katharina, based on the 16th century romance of Katharina von Bora and Christian theologian and reformer Martin Luther, plunges historical fiction fans into a turbulent time, where a strong man confronted the powerful Catholic church, and a courageous woman was called to love him.
Here, Hedlund wanted to say thank you to and express her appreciation for librarians.
Dear Librarian,
A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life. — Henry Ward Beecher
As a librarian, YOU are also a necessity! Thank you for the tireless work that you do day after day in making such a wide variety of books available to readers! More specifically, thank you for making MY books available time and time again. It’s because of you that my books end up in the hands of so many readers.
I wanted to alert you to the release of a very special book, a book that is very dear to my heart, a book that I’ve been waiting a long time to see come to publication. That book is Luther and Katharina: A Novel of Love and Rebellion.
Most likely you know a little bit about the great reformer, Martin Luther. But how much do you know about his wife, Katharina von Bora? Sadly, she (and other women like her) have languished in the shadows of their more popular husbands, and now it’s my privilege and pleasure to give a voice this little known woman by sharing her story.
One of the things that drew me to Martin Luther was the fact that I grew up Lutheran. My dad was a Lutheran pastor all his life until he passed away. I have an uncle who was a Lutheran pastor until he retired. I went to Lutheran grade school and my high school alma mater is Lutheran High School in Rockford, IL. My German and Norwegian grandparents on both sides of my family were devoted Lutherans as well. As you can imagine, Martin Luther was an integral figure in my upbringing. But I rarely heard anything about his wife.
When I studied the Middle Ages and the Reformation as an adult, I was introduced to Luther’s wife Katie, or Katharina von Bora. I was particularly fascinated by the fact that she’d once been a nun.
I was curious to know why she’d become a nun in the first place. And then what made her later decide to forsake her vows? What was life like for her after escaping her convent knowing that if she was caught and recaptured, she could face persecution and even death for running away? What I really wanted to know was how she’d ended up with Martin Luther. It was a love that was never-meant-to-happen. So how did it come about? You’ll have to read the book to discover the answer!
I hope that you will enjoy reading Luther and Katharina and be able to enthusiastically spread the word about the upcoming release to all of the readers in your library.
Many Blessings,
Jody Hedlund”