Quaker witness

by Irene Allen

Other authorsLouise Fili (Jacket designer)
Hardcover, 1993

Status

Available

Call number

A ALL v2

Publication

New York : Villard Books, 1993.

ISBN

0679414150 / 9780679414155

Local notes

inscription: donated by Bevianne Fitch

Description

In the world of paleontology, the name of the game is research. Some would even kill for credentials. So it comes as no surprise - and as quiet satisfaction for many - when an eminent scientist is found murdered in his Harvard lab. The prime suspect is a beautiful graduate student, the professor's only female advisee, who has just filed sexual harassment charges against him. Harvard is determined to close the case and convict the student - when Elizabeth Elliot, lifelong Quaker and Clerk of the Meetinghouse in Cambridge, steps into the fray at the student's request. Elizabeth is convinced of her innocence. Her only hope to clear the young woman is to penetrate Harvard's sanctum sanctorum to find the devious killer - knowing full well that brilliant minds are often the most dangerous.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Jim53
Elizabeth Elliot, sixty-something clerk of the Friends meeting in Cambridge, Mass, happens to be in the meetinghouse when Janet, a Harvard student who attends meeting occasionally, needs someone to talk to. Janet has been sexually harassed by her advisor and doesn't think she can return to her lab
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or school. Elizabeth forms a strong bond with Janet and helps her begin dealing with her problem. Then Janet's advisor is murdered in the lab, and Janet, who has filed a formal complaint, is a leading suspect. Convinced of Janet's innocence, Elizabeth helps her by pursuing other angles.

We get an interesting view of Elizabeth's life. She is a widow who has been called to the clerk's position and is clearly a bit of a go-getter. Allen's portrait of upper-middle-class New England Quakers seems pretty accurate from the little I know (I have more exposure to southern Friends, including my wife's family).

The style of the story is irritating in several places and did detract from my enjoyment of the book. The story seems to leave out some critical bits of flow and just get to the next place it needs to be. Recommended only for those interested in an example of portraying Quaker life.
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Call number

A ALL v2

Barcode

5703
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