Radiance: A Spiritual Memoir of Evelyn Underhill [Paperback]

Evelyn Underhill (Author), Bernard Bangley (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2004

"Here we are, little half-animal, half-spiritual creatures, mysteriously urged from within, and enticed from without to communion with spiritual Reality. If and when we surrender to this craving and this attraction, we enter thereby—though at first dimly—on a completely new life full of variety, of new joy . . ." —Evelyn Underhill

Evelyn Underhill is widely regarded as one of the greatest Christian mystics. This compilation of published writings and private journals offers a candid glimpse of her inner life, from the rare spiritual awareness that she possessed as a child, to the intense curiosity and intelligence that made her one of the most respected writers and thinkers of her day. Possibly most moving, this volume also reveals Underhill’s profound mid-life spiritual struggle. For the many admirers of Evelyn Underhill, and for anyone who enjoys reading accounts of the spiritual lives of others, this book presents a vivid portrait of a life that was truly radiant.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941) is perhaps best known for her 1911 classic, Mysticism, continuously in print to the present day. An English laywoman with no theological education, she wrote more than 30 spirituality books, lectured to Oxford scholars and Church of England clergy, led spiritual retreats and encouraged ecumenism decades before women began to assume religious leadership. Bangley has selected excerpts from her published writings, journals, letters and speeches to show Underhill's personal spiritual development as she moved from cool academic reflection through struggle and doubt to settled trust: "I do feel that trusting God must mean trusting Him through thick and thin." One reason for Underhill's popularity may have been her view that mysticism was for everybody, in all circumstances: "The true mystic quest may as well be fulfilled in the market as in the cloister, by Joan of Arc on the battlefield as by Simeon Stylites on his pillar." Hers was no self-absorbed, feel-good spirituality, however: "Any spiritual view which focuses attention on ourselves, and puts the human creature with its small ideas and adventures in the center foreground, is dangerous till we recognize its absurdity." Her God was transcendent: "a Reality independent of the worshipper, which is always more or less deeply colored by mystery, and which is there first." Despite its subtitle, this book is not really a memoir; Underhill wrote in the first person only in her journals and, in any case, distrusted subjective experience. It is nevertheless a captivating introduction to one of the 20th century's most appealing spiritual writers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"The carefully selected passages from Mysticism alone are worth the price of this book." -- National Catholic Reporter

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Paraclete Press (MA) (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557253552
• ISBN-13: 978-1557253552
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,436,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.