Review Of "Frances Of Assisi" By A. House

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

10-1-2001

Published In

Choice

Abstract

In this remarkably well-written, well-researched and engaging introduction to the life of St. Francis of Assisi, House illuminates the dramatic life and achievements of an exceptional man of faith. By placing St. Francis in his own time, the everyday life of 13th-century Italy emerges, as do the struggles between popes and emperors. Informed by modern historical scholarship, this biography is not a hagiography. It does not report the miracles that official biographies attribute to St. Francis, yet it does relate some stories that demand a degree of credulity, including his visions, his encounters with birds and animals, and his success in treating leprosy. These the author believes might well be true. Francis's remarkable achievements are as impressive today as they were for his contemporaries and can be appreciated by those of any faith or none. House read medieval and modern history at New College Oxford and was for many years a publisher with William Collins (now Harper-Collins) London. Highly recommended for general readers as well as students and scholars of all levels.

Comments

This work is freely available courtesy of Choice Reviews. The review has been reproduced in full in the abstract field.

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