2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The major Christian publishers have released several strong titles commemorating this monumental anniversary. Michelle DeRusha's Katharina and Martin Luther is one of these works.

Katharina and Martin Luther consists of eighteen chapters and an appendix:

1--To the Cloister School

2--A Nun without a Choice

3--A Family Rift

4--The Good Monk

5--The Road to Damascus and Nail in the Door

6--Hear This, O Pope!

7--The Risks of Freedom

8--Escape

9--Marriage Makeover

10--Tying the KNot

11--Backlash

12--Hausfrau Extraordinaire

13--Two Pigtails on the Pillow

14--A Family Affair

15--The Noblest, Most Precious Work

16--In the Valley of the Shadow of Death

17--'Til Death Did Them Part

18--A Chancy Thing

Appendix

Much has been written about the thunderous reformer, Martin Luther. Some has been written about his wife Katharina. There have been almost no books written about their radical marriage. Michelle DeRusha's purpose in writing Katharina and Martin Luther is to fill this void.

This book is an excellent resource to learn more about the Luthers, especially Katharina. The book begins by tracing her origins and story. How she was raised and some of her personality is seen in these chapters. What becomes clear is just how perfect of a fit she was for Martin Luther. Next, Martin Luther's well known journey from the monastery to the church door in Wittenburg, to his mantle of reformer is rehashed. Finally, DeRusha gives us a portrait of their marriage. Along the way we are instructed on broader historical developments and given cultural insights. The book concludes with an appendix that is a collection of three letters from the Luthers. The finished product is a great, one volume resource on the Luthers and their marriage.

DeRusha's purpose was to write about Katharina Luther and Luther's marriage. She has succeeded. This is a well written history of a marriage against the backdrop of the monumental Protestant Reformation.

I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers Program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review.

2017 is the 500th anniversary the Protestant Reformation. In the five hundred years since the Reformation begin many biographical accounts have been told of the reformers, from that of Luther, Calvin, Bullinger, Zwingli, Knox, and Cranmer, just to name a few. Yet most of these works focus on the life of the reformer, for instance in a biography of Martin Luther the majority of the book with focus on his life and very little would be focused on his marriage to Katharina, a marriage which should be famous but is sadly lost in the shadows of the greatness that was Martin Luther's life. This marriage is explored in great detail in the new book, Katharina and Martin Luther: The Radical Marriage of a Runaway nun and Renegade Monk, by Michelle De Rusha and published by Baker books.

Katharina and Martin Luther explores their important marriage, and DeRusha makes it captivating from beginning to end. Without giving the account of their lives away, this work is scholarly yet readable by all. If one just looks at the biography section in the book the this notion can easily be seen. Yet there are some areas which could be expanded upon, yet this would have made the work far too long and extended the basic premise too far. Needless to say this marriage, which was a radical thought at the time, is more or less the expected portrait for marriage in Ministry, having the minister discipling his family and congregants while keeping the most heart-wrenching hearts of his ministry out of the home as much as possible.

Katharina was a strong woman who helped a a great theologian teach the word of God through her ministry to her husband, this is the case with most Christ centered marriages with minsters and their spouse. In this she helped others to seek God where he may be found and Aid in helping others Proclaim it to any and all who'll hear. I hope that my spouse and I taking note of what the losers did in focusing on Christ as the center of their relationship, so that my marriage and all who read this work will fulfill their purpose to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

This book was provided to me free of charge from Baker Books Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

Katharina and Martin Luther: The Radical Marriage of a Runaway nun and Renegade Monk

2017 by Michelle DeRusha

Publisher: Baker Books

Page Count: 320 Pages

ISBN: 978-0801019104

Years ago I read Kitty, My Rib by E. Jane Mall and was delighted by the story of Martin and his ex-nun wife, Katharina. But I never knew what was fact and what was fiction in that book.

Until now.

Michelle DeRusha in Katharina and Martin Luther: The Radical Marriage of a Runaway Nun and a Renegade Monk has done a phenomenal job telling the story of this world-changing marriage.

The book focused on both Martin and Katharina equally which was not easy to do since Martin wrote so much himself and has been written about so often. On the contrary, all we have in Katharinas own hand is eight letters. And they are mostly business.

But I still came away from the book feeling like I knew Katharina as a person...or at least what she could have been like. Mrs. DeRusha didnt make hasty assumptions about how Katharina may have been thinking and feeling at different points in her life. Instead, she analyzes the possibilities. How did Katharina feel when she was dropped off at the convent when she was 6 years old? Did she see it as an adventure? Or did she dearly miss her family?

I also felt like the book did a terrific job explaining daily life during the time period and how the Reformation changed the world. This enabled me to put myself in the shoes of a commoner in Wittenburg and understand what Martins reforms would have meant for my life.

Not many biographers are able to balance fact and analysis while at the same time keeping the reader engaged. But Michelle DeRusha has expertly done so in Katharina and Martin Luther. I look forward to reading whatever she will write in the future.

Martin Luther is arguably one of the most famous, and controversial, people in history. However, as DeRusha notes, we do not have a lot of extant information on his wife Katharina (or Catherine) or the private, domestic lives of their marriage. In her biography on their marriage, DeRusha gives us an insightful look into Martin and Katharinas lives before their marriage one of a nun who fled the convent she lived in by her fathers decision and a monk who struggled deeply with depression and despair. After their marriage, we see a picture of the complicated life they led as reformers, but we also get a glimpse at how much they cared for each other, whether through Luthers standing up for his wife amidst gossip and rumors about her character or in Katharinas concern for her husbands ever-worsening health during Luthers later years.

While no means a perfect couple, this biography transports us back to the time of the Reformation, to a man who had the chance to put his theology of marriage into action. This book will be a welcome addition to the works of Luther and trying to understand better the context of such a polarizing figure.

I so enjoyed this book and learning about this couple. Martin Luther is obviously very well known, but the story of his lesser known wife and marriage was riveting and actually very relevant to marriages today. It kept me up late into the night wanting to learn more, both about this couple and what marriage looked like in the 1500's. Fascinating! I love reading stories of these unknown women in history who have stood by their very famous husbands. I would highly recommend this book!