Christoph von Schmid (1768–1854)

Having never read a Christoph von Schmid book before, I was interested to read The White Dove when it came up on my list of classical books recently. This story ended up being a much faster read than I anticipated—only half an hour or so. It’s a sweet story, one that I think my younger siblings would really enjoy, although it’s old enough that younger people might struggle to read the old English style in which it is written. Many years ago, I think I would have been entranced by this book—the way Agnes caught and tamed her dove, how she selflessly gave it away, and how her generosity ended up being an even bigger blessing than she anticipated.

I was bothered by the story a little; as I’ve begun noticing in a lot of 19th- and 20th-century stories, characters are portrayed as being able to decide to change their personalities in a positive direction, and then—voila!—their desired result happens, without a mention of needing God’s help for change. In my opinion, stories like this could be misleading in this area, even though otherwise, they are solid, well-written literature.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. It’s short, sweet, and the kind of book I imagine many children would enjoy reading. I’d like to read it to my siblings at some stage.… (mais)