or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
In This House of Brede
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

In This House of Brede [Paperback]

Rumer Godden (Author), Amy Welborn (Editor), Phyllis Tickle (Introduction)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)

List Price: $13.95
Price: $11.04 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $2.91 (21%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Only 19 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Monday, January 30? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Book Description

Loyola Classics February 1, 2005
“A novel of sensitive dedication.” —The Atlantic Monthly
“Rumer Godden deals precisely with the theme of the religious life . . . as representing ‘the heart of holiness of the Church.’ It is at once a life of great peace and often equally intense struggle.” —America magazine
This extraordinarily sensitive and insightful portrait of religious life centers on Philippa Talbot, a highly successful professional woman who leaves her life among the London elite to join a cloistered Benedictine community. In this gripping narrative of the crises surrounding the ancient Brede abbey, Rumer Godden penetrates to the mysterious, inner heart of a religious community—a place of complexity and conflict, as well as joy and love. It is a place where Philippa, to her own surprise and her friends’ astonishment, finds her life by losing it.

Frequently Bought Together

In This House of Brede + Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy (Loyola Classics) + The Edge of Sadness (Loyola Classics)
Price For All Three: $33.24

Show availability and shipping details

Buy the selected items together
  • In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy (Loyola Classics) $11.04

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The Edge of Sadness (Loyola Classics) $11.16

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details



Editorial Reviews

Book Description

This extraordinarily sensitive and insightful portrait of religious life centers on Philippa Talbot, a highly successful professional woman who leaves her life among the London elite to join a cloistered Benedictine community. In This House of Brede was the basis of a 1975 made-for-television film starring Diana Rigg.
 

From the Back Cover

“A novel of sensitive dedication.” —The Atlantic Monthly

“Rumer Godden deals precisely with the theme of the religious life . . . as representing ‘the heart of holiness of the Church.’ It is at once a life of great peace and often equally intense struggle.” —America magazine

This extraordinarily sensitive and insightful portrait of religious life centers on Philippa Talbot, a highly successful professional woman who leaves her life among the London elite to join a cloistered Benedictine community. In this gripping narrative of the crises surrounding the ancient Brede abbey, Rumer Godden penetrates to the mysterious, inner heart of a religious community—a place of complexity and conflict, as well as joy and love. It is a place where Philippa, to her own surprise and her friends’ astonishment, finds her life by losing it.
 


Product Details

  • Paperback: 672 pages
  • Publisher: Loyola Classics (February 1, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0829421289
  • ISBN-13: 978-0829421286
  • Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.1 x 1.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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

 

Customer Reviews

59 Reviews
5 star:
 (54)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (59 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 103 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Favorite Novel by a Favorite Author, January 17, 2005
This review is from: In This House of Brede (Paperback)
If we lived in the disutopia described in Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451, this would be the book I would choose to memorize. Any sane person might ask: "Why would someone want to memorize lengthy fiction about cloistered nuns?" Answer: "Because the characters are so real and the writing is so luminous."

The main character is Phillipa Talbot, a 40-ish successful career woman who enters an English Benedictine monestary. Author Rumer Godden skillfully weaves several plot lines that tell Phillipa's story as well as the stories of many of the other nuns. Sister Cecily the musician, learned Dame Agnes who becomes Phillipa's bete noir, tragic, silly exaggerated Dame Veronica, a victim of the rigid British caste system, and Dame Catherine who is elected Abbess. The writing is so beautiful--there is one description of the seasons of the year that never fails to move me no matter how often I read the book. In addition, the book contains some of the most fascinating "shop talk" you'll ever read.

Godden is a master story-teller, and even if the book contains a jarring Deus ex Machina solution to a serious problem, in the context of monastic life, it is believable.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful, June 15, 2000
This review is from: In This House of Brede (Hardcover)
This book shows the rich and full life that was to be had in an abbey. Godden portrays the nuns as human and individual beneath the uniform guise of the habit. Religious devotion is depicted with respect and warmth--a difficult combination, and a rare and welcome perspective in this day and age. Each time I've read it, I've found the book moving and thought-provoking.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Quiet Comfort, February 8, 2006
This review is from: In This House of Brede (Paperback)
I've enjoyed Rumer Godden's books on many levels for years. As an Anglophile of long standing, I love the "Britishness" of the culture and people of which she wrote. I've also loved the quiet intelligence of her books, which never talk down to their readers. Recently, after dealing with the last illness and death of my mother, I have found in Godden's writings on faith comfort and support. In This House of Brede is her strongest and most complex work, and one I have found particularly valuable during the last few months.

Brede Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in the south of England. Its nuns are an enclosed community who devote themselves to constant prayer and worship. The nuns are not saints but very human characters who struggle with pain, temptation, and sundry other challenges: physical, mental, and spiritual. It is comforting to read of their battles and of the faith which sustains them.

Godden wrote beautiful, thoughtful, prose, and in any of her books you will encounter engaging and attractive characters. In This House of Brede is her masterpiece.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
The tower of Brede Abbey was a landmark for miles through the countryside and out to sea; high above the town of Brede its gilded weathercock caught the light and could flash in the bright sun. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
claustral sisters, choir postulant, abbatial chair, extern sisters, junior nun, vestment room, abbot president, long cloister, pleached alley, new abbess, novice mistress, choir nuns, enclosure door, elected abbess, younger nuns, printing room, large parlor
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Abbess Catherine, Dame Veronica, Dame Agnes, Dame Maura, Dame Clare, Dame Beatrice, Dame Ursula, Abbess Hester, Dame Colette, Dame Perpetua, Sister Cecily, Lady Abbess, Dame Catherine, Dame Emily, Dame Joan, Sister Philippa, Stefan Duranski, Dame Philippa, Sister Polycarp, Mother Prioress, Sister Julian, Dom Gervase, Abbot Bernard, Dame Sophie, Sister Ellen
New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:



Books on Related Topics (learn more)

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(13)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject