A Question of Integrity (by Susan Howatch)

(Amazon UK link)

'A Question of Integrity' is a novel by Susan Howatch. In the United States, it is published as 'The Wonder Worker'. I've now read this book three times in five years. It's the first in a trilogy of books revolving around St Benet's Church, and the trilogy itself is a kind of sequel to six books forming the 'Starbridge' series that follows ministers in the Church of England from the early 20th century until the 1980s.

Alice, overweight, depressed, and very worried about her dying aunt, is caught in a rainstorm while out in London. Looking for shelter, she finds a church called St Benet's. To her surprise, it's not empty. Instead, some kind of service is taking place. Even more surprising, it's not a traditional church of England service but a 'healing' service, led by a tall clergyman called Nick Darrow. Alice finds him immediately attractive while feeling generally repulsed by the idea of people being emotional and asking God for healing.

On her way out - to her horror - Alice finds herself crying. The burden of caring for her aunt is too much. She is rescued by Nick, who offers to come and pray for her aunt. This starts a series of events which lead to Alice's life being increasingly bound up with the team at St Benet's. Inevitably she finds herself falling in love with Nick, but she is well aware that he has been married to a beautiful woman for twenty years and is a devout minister in the church. She is also convinced that she is so unattractive that no man would look twice at her anyway.

The first section of the book is told from Alice's perspective. Her name seems to have been deliberately chosen: there is more than one reference to Alice having fallen into 'wonderland' when she enters St Benet's and first meets Nick - who fights the temptation to be a 'wonder-worker'. The book as a whole is about Alice beginning to find peace with herself, a role in the world, and ways of expressing and finding love.

The second part of the book is told from the perspective of Lewis Hall, Nick's older colleague, who is a divorced priest with a penchant for smoking and drink. He's described as irascible, bear-like, grumpy, and yet oozing sex-appeal. The writing style changes when Lewis's section starts; it's written almost like a journal, detailing his innermost thoughts and worries, and admitting his temptations.

Lewis likes Alice very much in a fatherly sort of way, but is worried about her love for Nick. On the other hand he does not like Nick's wife Rosalind. She doesn't live at the communal Rectory in London, but in a beautiful home in Surrey where Nick commutes to at weekends. In Lewis's writing we get a hint that Nick's marriage may not be so perfect as it seems on the surface, but then again this could be Lewis's bias coming through.

The third section is told from Rosalind's perspective - again, a different style, and with new and somewhat shocking revelations as the story builds up to some dramatic events. Nick himself tells the fourth section of the book, and the final one returns to Alice's perspective after a series of climaxes and twists in the plot. One of Susan Howatch's gifts is that of telling a story from differing viewpoints, all in the first person, each one building on what went before and showing us the same events from different perspectives.

The theme of the book involves psychology, religion, failings and temptations, and also morality and integrity. Alice, who is not a Christian, has amazing integrity and serenity once she finds peace with herself. Nick, who appears on the surface to be full of integrity, has plenty of hang-ups from his youth. Amongst the lesser characters there are spiritual directors, gay activists, a hysterical woman... attempted murder, hypnosis, and a young man very confused about his sexuality.

I suppose the book would be classed as a psychological thriller. The first time I read it there were places where I felt very tense as well as places where I was shocked. But after the first few chapters it was almost impossible to put down. Reading it again recently - despite knowing what was coming - I still found it gripping. I find more in it each time I read it: the overlap between psychological, medical and spiritual language is fascinating. Wounds from the past in each character are revealing and thought-provoking, and the many subplots which weave an amazing pattern as they intertwine throughout the book.

There is of course a Christian worldview presented throughout the book, but there's nothing pushy about it. I've come across many atheists and agnostics who have enjoyed this book as much as I did - so don't be put off if the idea of a novel about a church healing centre sounds boring. The only slight disadvantage is that there's a melodramatic scene near the end of the book which seems rather unlikely. Although the first time I read it, I was so engrossed in the book that it didn't seem unbelievable at all.

All in all, highly recommended to anyone, so long as you have a day or two free to read it without interruption!