Description
Book SynopsisIn Fruit of the Orchard, Jennifer N. Brown builds upon academic discourse about medieval readers, trans-Reformation studies, and Catherine of Siena to reveal insights into the changing devotional reading appetites and practices of the period.
Trade Review"Brown has written a very well researched work. On the basis of twenty-one manuscript and printed excepts or complete copies of works by and about Catherine, she has constructed a plausible picture of how Catherine became known in England between 1400 and 1700, who read her and why." -- Hugh Feiss *
Journal of British Studies *
"[Fruit of the Orchard] is a fascinating study of English piety that clearly will interest specialists in women’s visionary culture. [Brown’s] close readings of specific texts add to our understanding of their creation, transmission, and reception. Scholars investigating connections between gender and spiritual authority, as well as the discourse between Latin and vernacular texts in an era of increasing literacy and print culture, will come away with new questions to pursue." -- Lezlie Knox, Marquette University *
Early Modern Women *
"Fruit of the Orchard has been a decade in the writing: it was worth waiting for." -- Luke Penkett, The Julian Centre, Norwich *
Spiritus *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Finding Catherine of Siena in Late Medieval and Early Modern England 1. Compiling Catherine: The Visionary Woman, Stephen Maconi, and the Carthusian Audience 2. William Flete, English Spirituality, and Catherine of Siena 3. Catherine Excerpted: Reading the Miscellany 4. The Orcherd of Syon: How to Read in the Convent 5. Catherine in Print: Lay Audiences and Reading Hagiography Conclusion - Reforming Reading: Catherine of Siena in an Age of Reform Appendix A: Literary Ancestry Chart Appendix B: Catherine Texts in England Notes Bibliography Index
