Barriers Burned Away

After hearing of the terrible tragedy of the Chicago fire of 1871, Rev. Roe decided to utilize the fire's setting for a novel. His aim was to show how trauma can produce spiritual change in an individual.

Published in 1872, Barriers Burned Away tells the story of Dennis Fleet, cast by tragedy to seek his fortune and his mother's support on the cold hard streets of Chicago. Dennis finds employment at Ludolph's art brokerage. Ludolph, a skeptic, has raised a beautiful, but cold-hearted daughter, Christine.

Throughout the narrative, the upbringings and temperaments of Dennis and Christine are compared. Roe brilliantly conveys the tension and inevitable collision caused by their disparate lives. The horror of the fire and its aftermath are well-illustrated by Roe, but the earlier climax of Dennis' and Christine's relationship is, in my opinion, the most exciting part of the book.

Roe's experience as a war correspondent seems to be his only prior, major experience with writing. It must be his great mental acuity and strength of purpose which makes Barriers Burned Away the exciting work that it is. I can't help but wonder, if he had lived longer, what he would have made of the tragedy of the Titanic or the devilish sinking of the Lusitania.

Ams Press will soon be publishing a new edition of this novel. Contact Amazon about obtaining a copy, or else you'll be relegated to haunting old books stores, as I am.

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