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Wingo Saga #1
The Gauntlet
The Gauntlet is the story of a young minister who at last found true faith. London Wingo chose a career in the ministry the way he might have chosen law, medicine, or business, and it was not until much later, when faced with the choice between uprightness and success, that his faith became evident.....
- GenresFiction
274 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1945
About the author
James H. Street
19 books9 followersFrom Wikipedia:
James Howell Street (October 15, 1903 – September 28, 1954) was a U.S. journalist, minister, and writer of Southern historical novels.
Street was born in Lumberton, Mississippi, in 1903. As a teenager, he began working as a journalist for newspapers in Laurel and Hattiesburg, Mississippi. At the age of 20, Street, born a Roman Catholic, decided to become a Baptist minister, attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Howard College. Unsatisfied with his pastoral work after ministering stints in Missouri, Mississippi, and Alabama, Street returned to journalism in 1926.
After briefly holding a position with the Pensacola, Florida Journal, Street joined the staff of the Associated Press. The AP position took him to New York, where he began freelance writing fiction. Hired away from the AP by the New York World-Telegram in 1937, Street sold a short story ("A Letter to the Editor") to Cosmopolitan magazine, which caught the eye of film producer David Selznick, who turned it into a hit film, Nothing Sacred. The Broadway musical, Hazel Flagg, was based on his short story, as well as the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis-film Living It Up.
His success allowed him to write full-time, and throughout the 1940s he worked on a five-novel series of historical fiction about the progress of the Dabney family through the 19th century. The Dabney pentology--Oh, Promised Land, Tap Roots, By Valor and Arms, Tomorrow We Reap, and Mingo Dabney--explored classic Southern issues of race and honor, and strongly characterized Street's struggle to reconcile his Southern heritage with his feelings about racial injustice. The series was a critical and popular success, with several of the books being made into feature films. Street modeled characters in his Dabney family saga on Sam Dale, Newt Knight and Greenwood LeFlore.
Street also published two popular novels about boys and dogs, The Biscuit Eater and Good-bye, My Lady, both were turned into movies, and a set of semi-autobiographical novels about a Baptist minister, The Gauntlet and The High Calling, both were bought by Hollywood but never produced.
Street's short stories and articles appeared regularly in Cosmopolitan, The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's and Holiday.
Street died of a heart attack, in Chapel Hill, N.C., on September 28, 1954, at the age of 50.
James Howell Street (October 15, 1903 – September 28, 1954) was a U.S. journalist, minister, and writer of Southern historical novels.
Street was born in Lumberton, Mississippi, in 1903. As a teenager, he began working as a journalist for newspapers in Laurel and Hattiesburg, Mississippi. At the age of 20, Street, born a Roman Catholic, decided to become a Baptist minister, attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Howard College. Unsatisfied with his pastoral work after ministering stints in Missouri, Mississippi, and Alabama, Street returned to journalism in 1926.
After briefly holding a position with the Pensacola, Florida Journal, Street joined the staff of the Associated Press. The AP position took him to New York, where he began freelance writing fiction. Hired away from the AP by the New York World-Telegram in 1937, Street sold a short story ("A Letter to the Editor") to Cosmopolitan magazine, which caught the eye of film producer David Selznick, who turned it into a hit film, Nothing Sacred. The Broadway musical, Hazel Flagg, was based on his short story, as well as the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis-film Living It Up.
His success allowed him to write full-time, and throughout the 1940s he worked on a five-novel series of historical fiction about the progress of the Dabney family through the 19th century. The Dabney pentology--Oh, Promised Land, Tap Roots, By Valor and Arms, Tomorrow We Reap, and Mingo Dabney--explored classic Southern issues of race and honor, and strongly characterized Street's struggle to reconcile his Southern heritage with his feelings about racial injustice. The series was a critical and popular success, with several of the books being made into feature films. Street modeled characters in his Dabney family saga on Sam Dale, Newt Knight and Greenwood LeFlore.
Street also published two popular novels about boys and dogs, The Biscuit Eater and Good-bye, My Lady, both were turned into movies, and a set of semi-autobiographical novels about a Baptist minister, The Gauntlet and The High Calling, both were bought by Hollywood but never produced.
Street's short stories and articles appeared regularly in Cosmopolitan, The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's and Holiday.
Street died of a heart attack, in Chapel Hill, N.C., on September 28, 1954, at the age of 50.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 15, 2015
I Cried at the end of the book! I think this little gem of a book has been overlooked by many. I love the way ask the characters interacted with one another to draw you in and keep you compelled to read it all Tue way through. A must read for anyone that wants to curl up next to a fire.
September 25, 2014
The Gauntlet was among a shelf-full of old books that were given to me many years ago. I picked it along with a handful of others for some vacation reading several years later. It turned out to be very engaging.
As a fictional account of a Southern Baptist pastor, it begins with his days at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and journeys through his years as a young minister.
The story is as tragic as many pastoral tales really were in that time.
As a fictional account of a Southern Baptist pastor, it begins with his days at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and journeys through his years as a young minister.
The story is as tragic as many pastoral tales really were in that time.
March 3, 2023
A friend of mine lent me this book. Afraid it was going to be super religious, I postponed reading it...but I'm glad I gave myself the chance to read a story that I would never have picked out for myself. Yes, it had some religious references, some of which I understood and many that I didn't. I liked this book however because of how realistically Street paints his characters. The pastor's wife, Kathie (aka Katherine in their town of Linden) was my hero. She seemed to understand human nature and always knew the right thing to do or say, and seemed to be always laughing. The townspeople portrayed people that we can all relate to in our lives. Their joys, and their bitter fights, were true to life and therefore understandable. The juxtaposition between our spiritual selves (lift our soul to the Lord!) and our mundane selves (our basketball team is better than your team!) was highlighted in such a way that I almost had to chuckle. I flagged 16 sections, passages that I would like to review once I've had time to think about the story. I would recommend this book to those who want to read about the generosity and foibles of humankind.
April 14, 2016
The struggles faced by a clergy family are portrayed with heart-breaking realism. That being said, the 'quest' so often mentioned was never really clarified or resolved, nor was the cruelty that led to the final crisis resolved. The pastor was shown to be deceptive and manipulative "for the Lord" and never seemed to notice that his own moral shortcuts may have signaled to his congregation the authority to practice the same.
June 27, 2015
James Street's The Gauntlet, a novel about the trials of a young Southern Baptist minister in the 1920's, will ring true, sometimes painfully so, for anyone who ever experienced small town church life....
See the full essay at www.newsoutherngentleman.wordpress.com - link available at my Goodreads page - thanks for stopping by!
See the full essay at www.newsoutherngentleman.wordpress.com - link available at my Goodreads page - thanks for stopping by!
October 20, 2013
Came across this in Grandma's collectibles and took a chance, surprised to enjoy the writing style and story as much as I did!
July 30, 2014
So good!!!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews