Anglo-Catholic in Religion: T.S. Eliot and Christianity - Tapa blanda

'Eliot once said, 'I believe that all our problems turn out ulitmatley to be a religious problem' (p.175). Spurr demonstrates convincingly that Eliot believed what he said and also believed that his version of Anglicanism offered the best solution to these problems. Spurr's lucid, well-researched, judicious book should be prized by anyone who wants a better understanding of Eliot's complex religious views and the profound influence they had on his writings.' Henry Hart, Anglican Theological Review, Vol.93:3 ' 'Anglo-Catholic in Religion': T. S. Eliot and Christianity is a detailed and informative study which places particular importance on Anglo-Catholicism, and establishes it as a key influence on Eliot's life and work. [...] For the most part his analyses are extremely effective. Eliot scholars will find his exposition of Ash Wednesday fascinating, as he illuminates its complex allusions to prayer, liturgy and the importance of the Virgin Mary. Moreover, Spurr highlights where the biblical echoes are most apparent in Eliot's poetry, and he perceptively indicates how Eliot was influenced both by the language of the Prayer Book and by the Bible. [...] Barry Spurr's monograph is relevant and timely. He has produced a seminal work on Eliot's Anglo-Catholicism that is both convincing and cogently presented. ' Jeremy Diaper in Modernist Cultures, May 2011 "Spurr considers every area of Eliot's writing with a view to showing what a full understanding of his religious ideas and practices might reveal." David Fuller, Modern Believing, Vol. 54.3, July 2013 'Spurr's book is comprehensively excellent on the nature and history of twentieth century Anglo-Catholicism, on Eliot's reputation as an Anglo-Catholic, his observance of its practices, his associations within Anglo-Catholic circles, and its expressions in his creative work [...] Spurr's study elucidates the history of Anglo-Catholicism, its differences from Roman Catholicism and from Protestant traditions.' Roger Kojecky, The Glass, Number 23, Spring 2011 "How fortunate we are to have a well informed and highly readable one of that title [Anglo-Catholic in Religion] by the Australian scholar, Professor Barry Spurr. Without being either pietistic or dryly objective it places Anglo-Catholic teachings and practises within the context of Anglicanism and Christianity as a whole, and it traces, in the needed detail, the imprint of these teachings and practises on T.S. Elliot as a literary figure and churchman. It rises on occasion over and above this primary duty of exposition." -William Blissett, The Chesterton Review, Vol. XXXVII No. 1&2, Spring/Summer 2011 "Professor Spurr has written an eloquent, learned and moving book, which any one interested in Anglo-Catholicism and all lovers of Eliot's literary output should read." -Sheridan Gilley, The Chesterton Review, Vol. XXXVII No. 1&2, Spring/Summer 2011

A definitive study of Eliot's Anglo-Catholic belief and practice exploring how the poet's religion shaped his life and work for almost forty years until his death in 1965. Spurr characterises Eliot's formal adoption of Anglo-Catholicism, in 1927, as the culmination of his intellectual, cultural, artistic, spiritual and personal development to that point and then demonstrates how Anglo-Catholic doctrinal, devotional and social principles influenced the subsequent life, thought and writing (in poetry, drama and prose) of one of the greatest poets and thinkers of the twentieth century. Barry Spurr is Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Sydney. He has published extensively on Renaissance and Modernist poetry, religious literature and liturgical language. He is the author of books on studying poetry, Lytton Strachey's prose, poetry about the Virgin Mary, and Anglican and Roman Catholic liturgical language reform. 'A much-awaited, very welcome and timely book.' - Ronald Schuchard, Emory University 'An elegant, lucid, and meticulously researched exposition of the specific nature and history of Anglo-Catholicism.' - Manju Jain, University of Delhi 'An important and necessary book: powerfully and persuasively argued, richly informative.' - Jason Harding, Durham University 'Barry Spurr's ' "Anglo-Catholic in Religion": T.S. Eliot and Christianity' is by far the best study of its formidable subject: erudite, in full command of the detail, and in every respect honorable. Much and properly indebted to Eliot's correspondence with Mary Trevelyan, the book brings forward remarkably cogent and persuasive materials on Eliot's belief and his daily practices as a Christian. The "sequence which culminates in faith" has never been so clarified, even if we allow - as we should - for the darknesses of doubt and weariness in Eliot's life. On themes with which we are more-or-less familiar, such as the Unitarianism of Eliot's family, Irving Babbitt's Humanism, Harvard's Pragmatism, Bergson's Bergsonism, Bradley's Idealism, the English mystics - Spurr presents more aspects of these than one would have thought possible. His commentaries on "Journey of the Magi" and later devotional poems are endlessly perceptive and far-reaching. I thought I knew "Ash-Wednesday" well; but on the evidence of Spurr's researches, not well enough. The book is a most notable achievement.' - Denis Donoghue, New York University