A Critic Turns To Soul-searching
Stuart Kelly’s new book, on a murderer who was later ordained, is intriguing on a number of levels
LITERARY critic Stuart Kelly knows a thing or two about books. Reviewing regularly for the likes of Scotland On Sunday, The Guardian and The Times
Literary Supplement, the writer was a judge for the prestigious Man Booker Prize awards in 2013.
Following his non-fiction works The Book Of Lost Books and Scott-land, the Borders-based author decided to take on a book on Scottish murderer turned minister James Nelson, published this year.
“I knew about the Nelson case from a very young age. Years later when the General Assembly was debating ministers in same-sex partnerships I remember discussing it, saying that it was nonsensical, what someone does in their own bedroom is really neither here nor there. ‘And anyway,’ I said, ‘we’ve already ordained somebody who was a murderer!’
“I started to realise just how much the case had disappeared from view. It was in all the papers, but it somehow evaporated from our recollections.”
In 1984, James Nelson was licensed to become a Church of Scotland Minister, 15 years after he was convicted of murdering his mother, sparking outrage and fierce debate in and outside the church.
“Thinking about the case made me realise how little had been written seriously on forgiveness. Given that it’s central to the church, there hasn’t been much serious philosophical or theological work on it.
“The other thing that struck me was how unusual his crime was. It’s very rare for a son to kill his mother.”
Stuart began to research the case and the issues surrounding it. Only when he sat down to write the compelling book, part true crime, part religious history, did he realise he would need to bring his own life experiences to the fore.
“I’ve had to work up to writing about myself! But for this subject it really seemed morally objectionable to write this book and not judge myself. We can never really know the whole truth of the Nelson story, so it felt like there really had to be an honesty on my part.”
Stuart explores his own religious journey In The Minister And The Murderer, describing three key spiritual moments from his life.
“Being almost struck by lightning was the strangest one because as I walked back home, I could see it crackling over the Pentlands and I had this overwhelming feeling that I wanted to be in that blaze of glory. It was so
“In a way, I’ve never enjoyed books – I read to be challenged