By What Authority‪?‬

This classic novel of Robert Hugh Benson transports the reader to Elizabethan England; a time when religious and political conflicts sorely tested the nation's ability to preserve and extend its power.

Benson boldly portrays two families - the Maxwells, who are Catholic, and the Norrises, who are Protestant - amid the upheavals of the Reformation, as it continues to rend Europe's social fabric. England is no exception, and this backdrop of religious change directly affects the characters of the book personally and socially.  

The initial plot surrounding the families is romantic in nature, as the young and virtuous Isabel Norris is pursued by Hubert Maxwell, a man brimming with youthful optimism. He persuades Isabel to join with him, claiming that the difference in their faith will resolve itself over time and that their life will be a happy one. Isabel - who loves Hubert for his gallant honesty - nevertheless realizes that life cannot turn out as simply as he makes it, but begins to gravitate toward Catholicism. 

Yet during Hubert's absence, wherein he serves under Captain Francis Drake as a naval officer, he resolves to become a Protestant. Returning home from a successful expedition, he finds that Isabel is on the cusp of converting to the Catholic faith. Frustrated, Hubert declares he will assume whatever religion is necessary, so long as Isabel will marry him. For the pious Isabel however this remark is repellent - although she remains in love with Hubert, it is unconscionable for her to cement the relationship through marriage. 

The latter portion of the book concerns Isabel's brother Anthony, a young and scholarly man who - by virtue of his intellect - bears witness to many of the important events of the Elizabethan era. Like his sister, Anthony's faith is markedly strong and central to his life. The novel's final showdown between Anthony and Queen Elizabeth herself is one of the most dramatic and intriguing portrayals Robert Hugh Benson ever put to paper.