Francis Of Assisi - Softcover

House, Adrian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1856194892 ISBN 13: 9781856194891

Publisher: Chatto & Windus, 2000

Synopsis

This book is written for readers of any faith or none. Although the whole of Francis's life was based on his belief in God, he was the least dogmatic of saints, seeing himself as God's troubadour or fool. It is unnecessary to share his faith in order to appreciate his soaring achievements.

His life (1182-1226) was rich in its succession of dramas. After his debauchery as a young playboy, merchant and soldier-he fought at the Battle of Collestrada--he stripped naked in court, abandoned everything he owned and devoted his life to the poorest and sick. The all-embracing relationship between him and Clare enriched each as man and woman. On his missions he walked over the Pyrenees barefoot, was shipwrecked and crossed the lines during the Fifth Crusade to parley with the sultan in Egypt. In 1224 marks similar to Christ's wounds appeared on his hands, feet and side, the first recorded case of the stigmata.

His feelings for creation, epitomized in his sermon to the birds, stimulated the realism of the Italian Renaissance artists; his vernacular poems inclined Dante to write The Divine Comedy in Italian, not Latin. The first religious order he founded, for men, had a radical effect on social justice and the developing universities in Europe; his second order, the Poor Clares, soon numbered hundreds, including royalty and half a dozen saints; his third, for laity sworn to peace, helped destroy the military power of feudalism. Men like Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Cervantes and Galileo allegedly joined the Third Order. But, above all, it is through his universal love that he has influenced the world for nearly eight centuries, drawing more than three million people every year to his tomb in Assisi.

About this title

About the Author:

Adrian House read medieval and modern history at New College, Oxford, and was for many years a publisher with William Collins (now HarperCollins) in London.

He has spent four years researching and writing this book, living for six months in Assisi and visiting Franciscan sites, communities and libraries in the United States, Britain, Italy, Spain and Egypt.

From Publishers Weekly:

The world would not seem to need another biography of Francis of Assisi, the Italian saint who has charmed the religious and the irreligious alike in the eight centuries following his death in 1226. Indeed, House, who has spent many years in the publishing world in London, begins this one with an explanation for having added to the "legion" of books about the saint. Quite simply, he confesses, he was curious about Francis and "this book is the result." It is a happy one at that. The four years House devoted to writing about and researching the life of Francis were clearly well spent; his book is not only comprehensive in treatment but superbly written. He draws the reader into the saint's life with the ease of a master storyteller who has organized the details so skillfully as to allow them to do the work of spinning the tale. His method of setting Francis in the context of the times that shaped him is especially effective. He explains, for example, how dreams were taken seriously in the Middle Ages and how they in turn were significant to Francis in discerning his spiritual calling. Without casting Francis as a modern environmentalist or feminist, House nonetheless shows how the saint's great love for creation and regard for women captured the essence of these later movements. House's approach also gives the relationship between Francis and St. Clare new texture and meaning without overly romanticizing it. By writing for those of any or no faith, the author has given aficionados of Francis and Clare as well as the merely curious much to savor. (Mar.)Forecast: Although the market is comfortably full of biographies of this popular saint, this title offers additional crossover appeal to women and those interested in ecospirituality. This biography attracted stellar reviews when it was published in the U.K. last year; Hidden Spring will support the book's U.S. debut with national publicity, New York and San Francisco author engagements and a 500,000-piece direct mail campaign.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Chatto & Windus
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1856194892
• ISBN 13: 9781856194891
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 351