Bøger af Charles Humphrey Muller

Harry Denton is a middle-aged professor who leaves his secure post at a London university on account of the sense of failure and embarrassment caused by his wife Anne's mounting debts. An inheritance left to him by his father enables him to start a new life by buying a small hotel in the Scottish Borders. But in this new context his marriage to Anne proves to be just as hopeless and loveless. He escapes through flights of fancy, frequently contemplating suicide, and becomes obsessed with one of his guests-Eleanor. Although, ironically, she comes across as a pretty simpleton married to an uncouth double-glazing salesman, she expresses the thinking which, in time, will transform Denton's life. The ruins of a twelfth-century Augustinian Abbey in the Scottish Borders play a significant role in the initial evocation of atmosphere, providing the fantasy of a 'time-gate' to the past.

1984 proved to be a seminal year in the lives of my family because it triggered my decision to move permanently from the country of my birth-South Africa-to Scotland. There was something magical about the remote Scottish glen where we spent the year, some ten miles south of Oban, in Argyle. In contrast to the gathering political storm clouds and tensions in South Africa, my sabbatical year in the Bragleenbeg glen that cradled the still waters of Scammerdale Loch that reflected the open sky and the green hills around, all speckled with white dots of sheep, was like a breath of fresh air, and we breathed freely. We realised we needed to find a new direction in life, though my obsession with acquiring a Roll-Royce Silver Shadow was probably more of an obstacle than a blessing! The musings that follow convey our progress and experiences in the ensuing years, and these include memories of the eleven years running a small hotel in the Scottish Borders, a sea voyage to Australia, life in the Great Glen of Scotland and on the wild coastline of Sutherland, followed by the short sojourn in Fife before we settled in the Central Belt of Scotland. -Charles Muller, 2013.

What was life like growing up as a baby boomer in Apartheid South Africa? The author looks back with wry humour and ironic touches on his early life in South Africa, and recalls the twists and turns that took him through the rest of his life as a rolling stone, or loose cannon, forever chasing rainbows in many countries, with occupations ranging from Professor of English in South Africa to hotelier in Scotland. "I have had so many different lifetimes compacted into a single lifetime, and each lifetime-in South Africa, England, Scotland, Nova Scotia, New Zealand, and finally Spain-saw a dream come true," he concludes. "The song 'Don't fence me in' comes to mind-though in a sense I long to be fenced in, to find myself safe and settled in a permanent home with my soul mate." Still seeking a permanent safe harbour, or sanctuary at the end of the rainbow, he is, by the end of the book, perhaps "running on empty" as his final allotted years, days or moments, peter out in Spain.

TOUCHED BY ANGELS brings together several inspirational stories of God's supernatural intervention in the lives of Christian believers. They constitute extra-biblical proof of God's divine power and love. The contributors are ? or were ? remarkable people whom the Lord had touched in one way or another, manifesting His divine love and miraculous power. It was the editor's own unexpected experience of the Lord's power and presence that, in 1984, changed his life and caused him to forsake his academic career in South Africa and move to the United Kingdom where he could obey his mission to write. It was also that remarkable experience of His power that made him seek out others whom the Lord had touched ? while he was still living in South Africa. This little book is the result of that quest.

Destiny and time are the themes of this novel. Can we really alter time? Would we?or could we?change any details of our lives if we had the opportunity to go back in time? Michael Grant, who flirts with suicide, is given this opportunity. The ending may be surprising!?This work is meaty and sustaining and could in no way be termed lightweight or frivolous. It's a good, square meal and two veg which will give the reader much food for thought and no little enjoyment.? ? Pat Miller, The Jedburgh Courier, Sept 2000.

Like James Joyce's character, Stephen Daedalus, Denton searches deeply into his soul, seeking to communicate and understand the consciousness of his race. Questioning his reason for living, Denton preaches the Gospel to prisoners in Pretoria Central Prison. The author's blending of narrative and stream of consciousness, interspersed with poetic epiphany, captures the complex climate of Denton's spiritual journey. The author writes on a high, dramatic level, never in danger of losing the tension of a conflict that leads his character away from a fundamentalist belief in Christian doctrine to a wider acceptance of Christ and salvation through grace.Charles Humphrey Muller, MA (Wales), PhD (London), DLitt(UFS), DEd (SA), was Professor and Head of the Department of English at the University of the North in South Africa for ten years. He is the author of numerous academic textbooks and literary studies. Now living in Spain, he continues to write.

A clear and concrete goal is the first step in the realization of your dreams. It's the foundation upon which all your actions - all your consequent actions - will be established. It's the first ingredient of a magic formula. There's no magic about it, of course - it just works like magic. It's the first step that unleashes - or begins to unleash - a creative force available to every human being. From establishing an objective, working out a strategy, and using faith and initiative, this detailed thesis explores the essential principles for personal success and achievement and guides the reader step-by step through the practical process of attaining his or her goals. More important, the book describes a spiritual journey, and asks whether it is the individual, or the invisible hand of Providence, that engineers the success - even to the extent of changing one's original goals, and changing one in the process.