Francis Of Assisi

Francis is held in high regard even by those who do not like saints. He is loved for the childlike sweetness that made him preach to the birds (who listened attentively) and to call the wolf his brother. It is this closeness to natural beauty that inspired this book, but House does not stop there. His aim is to set Francis in the context of his medieval world: 1182 to 1226. For all his love of the high and unspoilt places of the Umbrian hills, Francis was affected by the wars of his times, especially the struggle between Emperor and Pope and the Crusades against Islam. He experienced the horrors of both, travelling to Egypt and venturing into the Sultan's presence, and (less dangerous) travelling to Rome to plead with the Pope. House sets before us all the relevant evidence, so that, even if we disagree with him, we can make up our own minds. He sees the story of St. Francis as a great drama, a human story, which entwines itself with that of St Clare, his closest follower. A delightful feature is the wealth of illustrations. These include very early pictures of St. Francis, big-eyed, tiny, intense, that give us some idea of his charismatic vitality. Here is a man consumed with superhuman love. For House it is less what Francis believed that matters, hence his claim that he writes 'for readers of any faith, or none': it is what Francis was that matters, and this he sets out resolutely to demonstrate. Speaking of Francis and Clare, he says that 'neither was an intellectual, but they were intelligent, educated and thoughtful'; these are the very adjectives one would choose to describe this book. (Kirkus UK)