Come Rack! Come Rope! is a dramatic novel set in England during the Elizabethan era; a time in which religion, and the violence which ensued after the Reformation, played a heavy role in everyday life.
True to form, Robert Hugh Benson opens the novel in dramatic style. We are introduced to a seventeen year old couple, Robin Audrey and Marjorie Manners, who have become secretly engaged. While both are Catholic, they and their families live in rural Derbyshire at a time when Catholicism has become subject to persecution.
We are led to contemplate not merely how the fate of the young couple will transpire, but how the entire community will cope with the animosity born of religious upheavals. Benson's research of the time shines, as certain characters pledge support to the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots and contemplate how to survive the violent oppression.
The darkness of these days is reflected in the title of the book: the rack and rope were a method of torture, which was employed against many priests and openly religious people at the time. It was a common prelude to violent execution, such as being hung, drawn and quartered in public. Such events were intended to discourage Catholics from challenging the new order, and such terrifying, grisly barbarity commonly succeeded in its aims.
Yet Robin, who becomes the novel's protagonist, is not cowed to submission by such horrific acts - he sets off to France to study in the priesthood instead. The scene in which he announces his intentions to his father is the novel's first major turning point; we realize that even the mutual romantic affection between he and Marjorie is not enough to dissuade him from following his calling - Marjorie humbly encourages him to pursue his course as set out by God.
The intensity of spiritual beliefs, and consequences of defiance, are a recurring theme throughout this novel. Even when the author published this book in 1912, the 16th century persecutions were becoming less mentioned and remembered. Robert Hugh Benson is keen to reflect historical accuracy and minimize his personal outlook - that he, a Catholic priest, constructed a novel that portrays the time in an even-handed manner, is a noteworthy accomplishment.
