Catherine of Siena: A Passionate Life
While some saints fall out of favor or off the religious radar from time to time, others are continuously admired, examined, and dissected. This is true of a variety of the major players in the pantheon of Catholic saints. Catherine of Sienna is one of these ever-fascinating superstars. Brophy, author of One Hundred Great Catholic Books (2007) and The Story of Catholics in America (1978), provides a biography of Catherine that analyzes her life in terms of both her indubitable spirituality and her essential humanity. As a woman both of her time and ahead of her time, Catherine’s story must be understood in the often fractured and fractious context of fourteenth century Europe. Buttressed by the political, religious, and social complexities of the era in which she lived, Catherine’s dramatic story unfolds in three acts as her life and her influence spreads from town, to province, to continent. Respectful rather than awestruck, Brophy’s balanced account of an extraordinary woman will appeal to both devotees and scholars. --Margaret Flanagan--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.