"Works of Mercy" and Poet Robert Southwell

On Monday, I posted a short review of the novel Works of Mercy by Sally Thomas on my Faith, Fiction, Friends blog. It is a fine novel, a little slow moving at the beginning but richly rewarding if you stick with it. I stuck with it, and I’m glad I did. 

The main character, an aging housekeeper named Kirsty Sain, works for the priest in a small-town Catholic parish in North Carolina. She lives a somewhat isolated life, until circumstances force a change. But what threads through the change is the poetry of Robert Southwell (1561-1595). 

Southwell, who would become a Catholic saint, was one of the Catholic martyrs in the religious wars in England in the 16^th century. Yes, but was the age of Shakespeare, but it was also the age of religious war. Henry VIII began the English Reformation; his son and heir carried it onward for the few years he was king. Catholic Mary Tudor represented the reaction, and she was no slouch when it came to martyring Protestants. 

To continue reading, please see my post today at Dancing Priest.

Some Wednesday Readings

 

One Simple Question, Revisited – Andrew Pessin at Clarity with Micheal Oren.

 

Narratives of Russian history – Gary Saul Morson at The New Criterion.

 

Israel says more than a third of Gaza hostages are dead – The Jerusalem Post.