The dearly beloved : a novel

Summary: Charles and Lily, James and Nan. They meet in Greenwich Village in 1963 when Charles and James are jointly hired to steward the historic Third Presbyterian Church through turbulent times. Their personal differences, however, threaten to tear them apart. Charles is destined to succeed his father as an esteemed professor of history at Harvard, until an unorthodox lecture about faith leads him to the ministry. How then can he fall in love with Lily - fiercely intellectual, elegantly stern - after she tells him with certainty that she will never believe in God? James, the youngest son in a hardscrabble Chicago family, spent much of his youth angry at his alcoholic father and avoiding his anxious mother. Nan grew up in Mississippi, the beloved daughter of a minister and a debutante. James's escape from his desperate circumstances leads him to Nan and, despite his affirmed skepticism, Nan's constant and gentle devotion to God changes the course of his life. Here, we follow these two couples through decades of love and friendship, jealousy and understanding, forgiveness and commitment. Against the backdrop of turbulent changes facing the city and the church's congregation, these four forge improbably paths through their evolving relationships, each struggling with uncertainty, heartbreak, and joy.

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