The Pen and the Cross: Catholicism and English Literature 1850 - 2000

by Richard Griffiths

Publisher:

Continuum

, 2010

An illuminating study looking at an influential group of Roman Catholic novelists and writers - Chesterton, Belloc, Waugh, Greene, Spark and David Lodge among others.

Students and Scholars at all levels of English Literature, of the place of Catholicism in English society and any intelligent reader interested in the relationship between religion and literature.

Features

Griffiths always get wide and enthusiastic review attention.
Essential ingredient in the story of English literature and the novel in particular.
Academic, but also good general trade sale (Tablet Readers not least).
Top authority on subject.

Contents

Preface \ Section One: Introductory - 1. Clearing the Decks: An approach to English 'Catholic' literature \ 2. The Background to the Catholic Revival: Catholicism and British Society in the 19th and early 20th centuries \ Section Two: The Beginnings - 3. The preparatory ground, 1840-1890 \ 4. A solitary genius: Gerard Manley Hopkins \ 5. The Generation of the Nineties \ Section Three: The Catholic Novel before Greene and Waugh (1899-1938) - 6. The novel of contemporary life \ 7. Four popular narrative genres \ 8. Techniques and themes in the novel \ Section Four: Some Religious and Political Attitudes in the period up to 1940 - 9. Authority, and Heresy \ 10. Political Catholicism \ Section Five: Three Literary Giants - 11. Graham Greene \ 12. Evelyn Waugh. \ 13. David Jones \ Section Six: Catholic Writers of the late Twentieth Century - 14. Poets \ 15. Novelists \ Conclusion \ Bibliography

Praise for The Pen and the Cross

'Particularly illuminating with respect to the differences between English and French traditions...Griffiths' book is an overview of a tradition that is still, in many respects, little known. His literary judgements are robust, and generally sensible.'

'Anyone who wants to understand what it is about traditional Catholicism that attracts so many converts and repels so many others will find Prof Griffith's book a thought-provoking, informative read.'

'Griffiths covers over a 100 years of religious poetry... an interesting survey'

'In The Pen and the Cross, Richard Griffiths takes on a vast topic. As a professor of French he brings a special competence to the work'

'The Pen and the Cross is a hugely enjoyable survey of the last 150 years of Catholic Literature.'

'Griffiths offers an overview of the contribution made by Roman Catholicism to English Literature... I was especially struck by his insight into English and French Catholic literature.'

'Richard Griffith's scholarly and immensely readable book deals not with the Roman Catholic Novel alone, but also with Catholic poetry.'

The book is a really learned and sometimes brilliant discussion of the role and place of religion, especially of a self-conscious minority, in a nation's literature and the comparisons with France are illuminating.

Griffiths usefully sketches... the difference between the circumstances facing Catholic writers in France and in England before, say, the Second Vatican Council of 1962-5.

[a] beautifully presented study.

Review in Evelyn Waugh Studies

[A] fascinating study.

Product Details

• Title: The Pen and the Cross: Catholicism and English Literature 1850 - 2000
• Author: Richard Griffiths
• Publisher: Continuum
• Print Publication Date: 2010
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781441177650, 9780826496973, 0826496970, 1441177655
• Resource ID: LLS:9781441177650
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-05-13T23:54:54Z