This collection of sermon essays written by Alistair Maclean embodies and captures the bracing sensations of the Scottish Highlands, distilling them into thirty devotional studies full of charm to cheer the heart of every reader. In The Quiet Heart, the Reverend’s profound studies of the inner life offer deeply personal experiences to depict simple Christian lessons from everyday life. Maclean dared not to call himself a teacher, God’s truth being unknowable in all its fullness. Instead, he believed that he ‘shared with a company of friends whatever bread of knowledge the Blessed Christ has broken for my own hunger’, inviting the reader to join this company.

With inspiring, graceful and reverently restrained language, Maclean depicts the purity and vision of Highland life without becoming densely theoretical or inaccessible. Instead, he uses what he refers to as ‘heart speech’, which allows for a greater connection between word and reader. Maclean’s excellent grasp of language and grace of form makes The Quiet Heart a blessing to listeners everywhere.