When Did Ballantyne Become A Christian ?

Here are some things I am curious to know about Ballantyne. When and how did he become a Christian? Also, did he have personal experience with all the settings he wrote [about], or did he rely on others accounts? My family has an old book that is not [published] by Vision Forum, called "Twice Bought," written by R.M. Ballantyne. Did he really write a book named that, and how many books did he write total? -Thank you, Stephen

Stephen, please allow me to answer in Mr. Ballantyne's own words:

"During all the six years that I spent in Rupert's Land I was "without God." He was around me and within me, guarding me, bestowing upon me the physical and mental health by which alone I could fully enjoy a life in the wilderness, and furnishing me with much of the material that was to serve as my stock-in-trade during my subsequent career; yet--I confess it with shame--I did not recognize or think of, or care for, Him. It was not until after I had returned home that He opened my eyes to see myself a lost soul, and Jesus Christ, "God with us", an all-sufficient Redeemer, able and willing to save me from sin, as He is to save all sinners, even the chief."

It is also important to remember that for many people there is not an exact time or date in which you know that you became a "born again believer." Ballantyne was brought up in a very pious home; this would have helped him understand how great the need really was for him to turn to Christ. Also, in studying Ballantyne, I have seen that he truly had the hand of the Lord on him (as he says) throughout all his early life. He was kept from becoming hardened and angry at his family and God during their time of great loss and hardship.

And, yes, Mr. Ballantyne did write Twice Bought. Also, Ballantyne wrote a total of 80 books, and, for almost all of them, he visited the spot he was writing about.
-Alba Gu Bra, Joshua Titus