Books

Pope Leo XIV: not quite in his own words

Elise Ann Allen’s biography benefits from exceptional first-hand sources but dwells too long on stating the obvious. The best bit is the actual interview with the Pope at the end

Melanie McDonagh

Beyond therapy: the soul’s need for God

From Dante to Viktor Frankl, the search for meaning points beyond psychological wellbeing towards the soul’s ultimate end in God

A study in grief and grace

A thoughtful revival of William Nicholson’s play traces CS Lewis’s unexpected marriage to Joy Davidman and the spiritual questions it provoked

Georgia L. Gilholy

Rediscovering the case for Christ in prophecy

A new book explores how Old Testament prophecy continues to point to the divine reality of Jesus and deepen faith among believers today

Clement Harrold

When rebellion loses its object

A provocative collection asks what becomes of a subculture defined by transgression when the mainstream abandons its own rules

A life in defence of tradition: Michael Davies reconsidered

Leo Darroch’s new biography explores how a schoolteacher became a leading voice in debates over liturgy and doctrine

An uninspiring portrait

Christopher Lamb offers a serviceable overview of the challenges facing Pope Leo XIV, but his analysis rarely moves far beyond the obvious

Melanie McDonagh

Evelyn Waugh’s death, sixty years on

Evelyn Waugh died on Easter Sunday 1966, after Mass and Holy Communion; six decades later his Catholic imagination remains as striking as ever

Sacramental imagination and the recovery of enchantment

Modernity claims to have stripped the world of meaning, but Tolkien offers a vision in which reality remains charged with significance

The return of wonder

Medieval mystery plays and Shakespeare point to a culture that once understood wonder and what has been lost in its absence