Product Description

Born in the Castilian town of Ávila in 1515, Teresa entered the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation when she was twenty-one. Tormented by illness, doubts and self-recrimination, she gradually came to recognize the power of prayer and contemplation – her spiritual enlightenment was intensified by many visions and mystical experiences, including the piercing of her heart by a spear of divine love. She went on to found seventeen Carmelite monasteries throughout Spain. Teresa always denied her own saintliness, however, saying in a letter: ‘There is no suggestion of that nonsense about my supposed sanctity.’ This frank account is one of the great stories of a religious life and a literary masterpiece – after Don Quixote, it is Spain’s most widely read prose classic.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #126961 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-29
• Original language: Spanish
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Written at the command of her confessors, the books of this 16th-century Spanish saint and mystic--a beloved friend to another great Spanish mystic, John of the Cross--remain classics of Christian mysticism. Less abstract and theoretical than her friend, St Teresa's writings are no less noteworthy for the brilliance of their ability to convey with both warmth and rigour some flavour of this most extraordinary experience: union with God. Her autobiography may well be the best entry point into her work, and into the great mystical literature of the Christian church. Here she describes her early life and education, the conflicts and crisis she underwent, culminating in her determination to enter fully into the path of prayer. Following a description of the contemplative life, which she explores in four stages, she returns to her own life in order to describe (in erotic language reminiscent of the Song of Songs) the ecstatic experiences given to her by God.

If the idea of mysticism seems hopelessly otherworldly to you, try a taste of St Teresa, who can be as down to earth as Oprah--and sometimes just as amusing. --Doug Thorpe

About the Author
St Teresa (1515-1582) entered the Carmelite convent in Castile when she was 21. Approaching her vocation with determination but no enthusiasm, she slowly realised God can be loved in and through all things. J.M. Cohen translated nine volumes for the Penguin Classics, including Cervantes, Montaigne, Rabelais and Rousseau. He died in 1989 and was described by the Times as "one of the great English men of letters".

Customer Reviews

A classic spiritual autobiography
St Teresa wrote this story of her life under obedience to her superiors. It is not a conventional autobiography, there are few details of her childhood for example. She frequently digresses onto the subject of prayer and this contains some of the most lovely descriptions of the different stages of closeness to God. This is Spain's second most popular prose classic and allows a glimpse of the real woman behind the sainthood. Read this carefully, it is not a book to be read in one sitting. If you read it slowly, it will reward you with new insights into your own spiritual life.
For those who are more interested in the person than the spirituality, it gives insight into the life of a devout 16th century nun, who defied the conventions of her day and reformed a religious order, almost unheard of for a woman. However you approach this book, it is a classic of its type, sit back and imagine St Teresa writing these words at her tiny desk, by flickering lamplight and hear her speak to you.