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50th out of 287 books
—
46 voters
Edmund Campion: A Life
by
Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh presented his biography of St. Edmund Campion, the Elizabethan poet, scholar and gentleman who became the haunted, trapped and murdered priest as "a simple, perfectly true story of heroism and holiness."But it is written with a novelist's eye for the telling incident and with all the elegance and feeling of a master of English prose. From the years of success...more
Hardcover, 216 pages
Published
March 31st 2005
by Ignatius Press
(first published 1935)
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I love the writing of Evelyn Waugh…his prose are some of the best of our time, if not of all time. And when that talent is used to pen a biography of the heroic English martyr, Edmund Campion, a tremendous blessing has been given to all who gleen it’s pages. What a story…what a life.
When I first read this book in the early 90's I was still a Protestant struggling with the questions of conversion. At the end of it, I still had questions to resolve about becoming Catholic but I felt a real desire to become a Jesuit like Campion, ready to sacrifice all and defy anyone for the sake of the Gospel. Whatever your background, if you can read this story without being moved and challenged, beware the state of your soul!
It is a powerful story, thoroughly researched and skillfully told...more
It is a powerful story, thoroughly researched and skillfully told...more
In his own words, Evelyn Waugh, author of Brideshead Revisited, “put into a single, readable narrative the most significant of the facts about the life of Edmund Campion.” In Edmund Campion, we first meet the future Catholic martyr and saint as a young but already famous Oxford scholar, age 26, speaking before Queen Elizabeth I in 1566, the eighth year of her long reign.
Elizabeth’s first official act in 1558 was to make the Catholic Mass illegal. She and her fellow Anglican leaders “struck hard...more
Elizabeth’s first official act in 1558 was to make the Catholic Mass illegal. She and her fellow Anglican leaders “struck hard...more
Evelyn Waugh, was greatly influenced by the life of St. Campion and later converted to Catholicism. Here he presents a readable, interesting, and intellectual account of Campion's life. I couldn't think of a better person or more satisfying. To know Campion influences, by the actions of his life, people spanning the centuries is enough in itself a point to ponder. The title itself..is clever and perfect. This account begins with a riveting introduction to the Tudor dynasty with a listless, aged...more
Campion was a man's saint! A definite stud. If you are looking for some quick inspiration, I definitely recommend this book. It's very short, and doesn't attempt to be a definitive biography. It's goal is to paint a picture of the man and the saint in broad strokes, which it accomplishes very well. After reading it you'll want to learn how to speak Latin and Greek fluently and die as a missionary martyr.
The book also gives a great quick picture of Elizabethan England. It doesn't try to be a hist...more
The book also gives a great quick picture of Elizabethan England. It doesn't try to be a hist...more
Beautifully written biography of the renowned Jesuit scholar and martyr. There is a detailed background of the brutality and just plain villainry of the Elizabethan government with respect to the Catholics in the country and, externally, with the Catholic countries. Against this scenery, the devotion of the seminary priests and the Jesuits in their covert ministry to the Catholics in England is inspiring. An excellent read.
One of the finest, most inspiring biographies I have ever read. It is a tale of faith and hope in the face of ferocious injustices and intensely bloody persecutions - truly the darkest days of Engish history. Evelyn Waugh's graceful prose and command of history and the spirit of this great saint makes this book hard to put down. Second time I've read it and it has only gotten finer with age
This is a biography of a jesuit martyr. I didn't realize that Catholics were tortured during the time of Queen Elizabeth just as Protestants were during the time of Bloody Mary.
Listed by Patrick Madrid in the Reading Plan of Search and Rescue in Phase 2 (Intermediate). ("exciting story of an apologist")
I LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS BOOK!
Amazing true story...
Amazing true story...
Waugh had already made, or very nearly made, the transition from young bad boy satirist to mature novelist with "A Handful of Dust" but this fine little book presages his later work. A beautiful piece of writing.
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Evelyn Waugh's father Arthur was a noted editor and publisher. His only sibling Alec also became a writer of note. In fact, his book “The Loom of Youth” (1917) a novel about his old boarding school Sherborne caused Evelyn to be expelled from there and placed at Lancing College. He said of his time there, “…the whole of English education when I was brought up was to produce prose writers; it was al...more
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