Description
Book SynopsisDrawing upon many testimonies and archival sources, this scholarly biography of Bernadette Soubirous explains who Bernadette was, and how she lived and died but takes no position on whether or not her visions were genuine. It places Bernadette in the context of her time.
Trade Review"'Taylor's excellent biography offers a fascinating look at Bernadette's short and in many ways tragic life. The book thus offers not only a vivid portrait of a remarkable young woman, but fascinating insights into the interactions between official and popular religion. Taylor does not take a stand on the veracity of Bernadette's visions, and her tone is balance enough to appeal to sceptics and believers alike. The book is well researched and written in elegant prose refreshingly free of scholarly jargon. This must-read for scholars' of French religious history and/or the history of women is accessible for undergraduates and general readers as well. Essential. All libraries/levels' Choice"
Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part One. Lourdes: The Making of a Shrine; 1. Like Any Town: Lourdes Before the Apparitions; 2. An Ignorant Young Girl: The Childhood of Bernadette, 1844-1858; 3. The Fortnight: Daily Visions from 18 February to 4 March 1858; 4. So Many Extraordinary Things: Miracles in Lourdes, 1858; 5. The Spirit of Resistance: Lourdes, May to September 1858; 6. For the Sake of Religious Enlightenment: The Episcopal Mandate, 1858-1866; 7.What Will You Become?: The Education of bernadette, 1860-1866; Part Two: Nevers: The Afterlife of a Visionary; 8. Dedicated to Perfection: Life, Work and Death among the Soeurs de Nevers; 9. I Have Come Here to Hide Myself': Life in the Novitiate, 1866-1867; 10. Watching Over the Sentiments of My Heart: REligious Life at St Gildard; 11. Silence of the Self: Bernadette as a Sister of Nevers; 12. Atrocious Sufferings: The Deathbed, 1875-1879 Conclusion; Notes; Bibliogrpahy; Index.
