In This House of Brede [Paperback]

Rumer Godden (Author), Amy Welborn (Editor), Phyllis Tickle (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2005 | Series: Loyola Classics

“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.

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.
 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Loyola Classics; Reissue edition (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0829421289
• ISBN-13: 978-0829421286
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,976 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

116 of 118 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Favorite Novel by a Favorite Author January 17, 2005

By Constant Librarian

Format: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.

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Quiet Comfort February 8, 2006

By John D. Cofield TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format: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.

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful June 15, 2000

By UCLAgirl

Format: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.