British Library, Day Fifteen

This proved to be a very High Church/Anglo-Catholic/Roman Catholic kind of day.

[J. M. Neale], The Lazar-House of Leros: A Tale of the Eastern Church in the Seventeenth Century (John Henry and James Parker. n.d.). Historical novel about the fate of Cyril Lucaris (hint:: not good), set against that of the family of one of his priests. The leading protagonists are really two of the priest's children: Constantine, who is kidnapped and enslaved by Barbary pirates, and Sophia, who becomes a nun at the eponymous lazar house (which, because of the virulence of this strain of leprosy, she cannot leave once she enters). Neale positions Sophia/Sister Agatha's single-minded devotion to her religious duty, which ultimately leads to her death, as a foil to Cyril's hemming and hawing over Protestantism. BODY COUNT: Three.
[J. M. Neale], Larache: A Tale of the Portuguese Church in the Sixteenth Century (John Henry and James Parker, 1861). Historical novel about the fate of King Sebastian of Portugal (hint: not good) at the Battle of Ksar El Kabir. Neale represents Sebastian as a weak monarch surrounded by corrupt and ambitious men (just about all of whom are done in by the battle). His ideal true Christian is Father Thomas, whose devotion to the common people stands in stark contrast to those higher up the ladder, lay or clerical. Like The Lazar-House of Leros, the novel warns of the consequences of a church's dereliction of duty on a nationwide scale. BODY COUNT: Not quite at Hamlet levels (some speaking characters survive), but pretty close.
Hubert Neville. A Tale (Joseph Masters, 1872). Anglo-Catholic novella dwelling on the significance of the Blessed Sacrament. Young Hubert Neville's devoutly Anglo-Catholic mother dies (at some length), taking her final Communion before she does so; her brother Mr. Nugent, an Anglo-Catholic clergyman, advises Hubert about his own desire for Communion. Alas, Mr. Neville dislikes all this churchy stuff, and provokes Hubert to a fit of anger (oh no!). However, a penitent Hubert saves everyone by ringing an alarm when the house catches fire. As you might expect, given this type of novel, Hubert injures himself fatally and dies (also at some length), finally taking Communion before he does so. Repentant Dad devotes himself to restoring the rundown church. In an unusually metafictional moment early on, Mr. Neville grumbles that "[t]hese unnaturally good children always die young." BODY COUNT: Two.
The Bishop Martyr. A Tale of Early Church History (SPCK, n.d.). Anglican historical novel about the fate of a Christian family during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (hint: not--oh, for crying out loud, look at the title). Short version: pagans, very corrupt and wavering; Christians, very noble and steadfast. The eponymous Bishop, Anthemius, refuses to sacrifice to Jupiter and is beheaded. Needless to say, the Christians die well, while the pagans die miserably. BODY COUNT: Five (most offstage).
The Last Prior of S. Antony (James R. Netherton; J. and C. Mozley, 1847). Tractarian-flavored novella about the suppression of the monasteries. Young Hugh Godolphin disobeys his father (always bad) and becomes a follower of Perkin Warbeck, a decision their next-door neighbor uses to help charge Godolphin Sr. with treason. The entire family implodes; a penitent Hugh winds up as a monk and eventually becomes the eponymous final prior. Some years later, when Henry VIII does in the monastery, Hugh (now Ambrose) warns the men who have come to sack the place that anyone who does so will be cursed; the family that eventually buys the converted monastery is utterly destroyed by it (the children die, the mother dies, the father commits suicide...). In general, the novella represents the Reformation as an entire disaster for England that substitutes capitalism for the traditional relationships between the classes (when it isn't also wrecking English spirituality, of course). BODY COUNT: Six.
"God's Acre": Or, Whom Does the Church-Yard Belong To? (SPCK, n.d.). Anglican novella. The blighted village of Blytham is filled with unruly children who, among other things, wreak havoc in the unkempt church-yard. The new clergyman and his wife teach them that the church-yard belongs not just to the Church, but to God himself. Once that's squared away, the village shapes up right sharpish. BODY COUNT: One.
Wolfingham; Or, the Convict-Settler of Jervis Bay: A Tale of the Church in Australia (John Henry and James Parker, n.d.). Another Anglican novel. Stephen Wolfingham has just been confirmed and recently married, but in a moment of weakness, he agrees to go poaching with a friend. Unfortunately, he shoots a gamekeeper, and winds up transported for life. His decline into crime! and murder! and cursing! can all be laid at the feet of the government's terrible religious policy in Australia. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of Samuel Marsden, Richard Johnson (here spelled Johnston), William Broughton, and others, first one of Stephen's kids is redeemed, and then ultimately Stephen himself. Includes some sharp words about colonial racism. BODY COUNT: Five.
Baroness Pauline von Hugel, Carmen's Secret (Catholic Truth Society, 1897). Margaret Cameron, a staunch member of the Free Church of Scotland and descendant of the Covenanters, is firmly anti-Catholic. Nevertheless, when she becomes housekeeper to her widowed brother (a Protestant) and his three daughters (all Catholics like their late mother), she finds herself slowly becoming attracted to the Catholic faith (although many controversial debates over doctrine ensue first). Carmen, the oldest daughter, gets intro trouble when she keeps secret the engagement of friend Gwen Clive to a local Protestant. In the end, everyone converts who needs converting, nobody enters mixed marriages, and Carmen dies (having vowed her life in exchange for Margaret's and her father's conversions). The novel emphasizes not just suffering, but suffering as a means of participating in or reenacting Christ's humiliations. BODY COUNT: One.