Saint Teresa (1515-1582) is widely considered one of the greatest mystics and woman reformers of the Renaissance. Author Cathleen Medwick (a former editor at Vanity Fair and Mirabella) clearly invested an enormous amount of research into this impressive biography of a brazen and complicated woman. Although she broke many of the social rules for nuns and even women of her day (for instance, she slept under the stars, traveled at whim, and spoke her mind freely), it was her ecstatic raptures that made her so controversial. "Sometimes she dropped to the floor and was frozen in position for hours, unable to speak," writes Medwick. "At other times she conversed with God directly, a dangerous practice, the Inquisition often having its ear to the door." Readers will find a fascinating character in this fully flawed and charismatic Spanish saint. More delightfully, readers will appreciate Medwick's strong narration and sense of story that sustains us through Teresa's trials and tribulations--and expertly leads us to her final rapture. --Gail Hudson


From Publishers Weekly
A fascination with what she calls the "journey" of the 16th-century Spanish saint sustains Medwick's disappointing biography of Teresa of Avila. The saint was both a profound searcher of the self who succumbed to rapturous interludes and a harried organization freak who struggled to bring about her vision of cloistered community while buffeted by illness and accusations. Medwick, a former editor for Vogue and Vanity Fair, rightly characterizes Teresa as "a daughter of the church," but her laudatory effort to situate her subject in the religious culture of contemporary Spain falls short of its objective. Medwick's Teresa is domesticated and ahistorical, disconnected from the world in which she lived. Medwick eschews analysis for summary, resulting in a rather superficial portrait of the saint. Far too often, also, it is unclear whose voice we are hearing, Medwick's or Teresa's. Unfortunately, the "journey" that Medwick recounts here is far less complex and penetrating than Teresa's actual one, as revealed by her life and writings. (Dec.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
A dozen biographies on Spanish reformer and mystic St. Teresa of Avila (1515-82), were published in English in the 1990s testifying to her enduring attraction. Tracing the indomitable Teresa's own writings, Medwick (an editor at Vogue and House & Garden) recounts the Carmelite nun's efforts to establish new convents throughout Spain while dealing with misunderstandings, illnesses, politics, and treachery. Clear writing in a modern idiom marks this well-researched biography, unencumbered by heavy footnoting. The author's long admiration for her subject is evident in her deft handling of the saint's many complexities. A map and chronology would have enhanced the text, and the occasional slip (Teresa would not be "saying Mass") is easily overlooked in the wealth of seamless information provided. This is a good introduction to a fascinating personality by a non-Catholic who leaves others to probe Teresa's spirituality and theology more deeply. Recommended for general collections.AAnna M. Donnelly, St. John's Univ., Jamaica, NY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review, Liesl Schillinger
The book is a marvel of scholarship and wit--a dry-eyed vision of a dry-eyed saint.


From Booklist
So many biographies and studies have been written about Teresa of Avila that it leads one to ask, why another? This first female Doctor of the Church has been hailed as a saint, decried as a heretic, lauded by feminists, reviled by feminists. She has caused such a sensation over the past few centuries it is no wonder she has been studiously psychoanalyzed and her story revised and retold over and over again. This latest addition to the corpus of biographies is a good one, however. The author, who states firmly she is a nonobservant Jew, has no real agenda other than to tell the tale of a remarkable, humorous, and very vibrant woman who stirred up people's emotions since her birth and especially after her death in 1582. Emphasis is placed on the deeds of the saint and her interactions with some of the era's leaders. Medwick's scholarship is good and not too heady or theological. Her sources are basic, and her style is forthright and concise. Michael Spinella


From Kirkus Reviews
A popular biography of the 16th-century Spanish saint that offers commentary on both her spiritual and secular accomplishments. Medwick, an editor and writer for popular magazines (and an ``unobservant Jew''), was a student of Renaissance literature when her interest was piqued by this nun who came to prominence during the counter-Reformation. She successfully organized a string of Carmelite convents and monasteries whose discipline honored traditional values of poverty, chastity, and obedience. But Teresa had already earned a reputation for her ``raptures,'' trancelike encounters with spiritual beings, ranging from angels to God Himself, during which she was occasionally seen to levitate. One of 10 children, she had been packed off to a convent when she was 16. Her frustrated efforts to love God sufficiently and her self-imposed penances led to serious illnesses: She was paralyzed for three years; disease and pain (diagnosed hundreds of years after the fact as psychosomatic) plagued her for the rest of her life. She nevertheless struggled to perfect her prayers, achieving a relationship with her God that enabled her not only to levitate, but to share conversations wherein she questioned His directions. God always prevailed, inspiring not only her successful franchising of nunneries and friaries, but her extraordinarily eloquent collection of writings about her interior life and her organizational techniques. Surviving attacks from the Spanish establishment, including the Inquisition, she died midway through an inspection tour of her convents, with blood on the sheets (possible evidence of uterine cancer) and an unexplained fragrance in the room. One serious hiccup in the narrative flow: Descriptions of Teresa's early struggle to communicate with God lack a cogent explanation of why prayer and confession were so the important in her religious practice. A worthy introduction to this dynamic personality, praised at her canonization for ``overcoming her female nature.'' (10 illus., not seen) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Cathleen Medwick shows us a powerful daughter of the Church and her times who was a very human mass of contradictions: a practical and no-nonsense manager, and yet a flamboyant and intrepid presence who bent the rules of monastic life to accomplish her work - while managing to stay one step ahead of the Inquisition. And she exhibited a very personal brand of spirituality, often experiencing raptures of an unorthodox, arguably erotic, nature that left her frozen in one position for hours, unable to speak. Out of a concern for her soul and her reputation, her superiors insisted that she account for every voice and vision, as well as the sins that might have engendered them, thus giving us the account of her life that is now considered a literary masterpiece.. "Medwick makes it clear that Teresa considered her major work the reform of the Carmelites, an enterprise requiring all her considerable persuasiveness and her talent for administration. We see her moving about Spain with the assurance (if not the authority) of a man, in spite of debilitating illness, to establish communities of nuns who lived scrupulously devout lives, without luxuries. In an era when women were seldom taken seriously, she even sought and received permission to found two religious houses for men.

FROM THE CRITICS

Economist

Medwick's book has the pace of a political thriller.

Christianity Today

Medwich's Teresa brings a refreshing balance to the picture of the great saint of Avila...[she] tells Teresa's complex story with respect and verve.

Publishers Weekly

A fascination with what she calls the "journey" of the 16th-century Spanish saint sustains Medwick's disappointing biography of Teresa of Avila. The saint was both a profound searcher of the self who succumbed to rapturous interludes and a harried organization freak who struggled to bring about her vision of cloistered community while buffeted by illness and accusations. Medwick, a former editor for Vogue and Vanity Fair, rightly characterizes Teresa as "a daughter of the church," but her laudatory effort to situate her subject in the religious culture of contemporary Spain falls short of its objective. Medwick's Teresa is domesticated and ahistorical, disconnected from the world in which she lived. Medwick eschews analysis for summary, resulting in a rather superficial portrait of the saint. Far too often, also, it is unclear whose voice we are hearing, Medwick's or Teresa's. Unfortunately, the "journey" that Medwick recounts here is far less complex and penetrating than Teresa's actual one, as revealed by her life and writings. (Dec.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

A dozen biographies on Spanish reformer and mystic St. Teresa of Avila (1515-82), were published in English in the 1990s testifying to her enduring attraction. Tracing the indomitable Teresa's own writings, Medwick (an editor at Vogue and House & Garden) recounts the Carmelite nun's efforts to establish new convents throughout Spain while dealing with misunderstandings, illnesses, politics, and treachery. Clear writing in a modern idiom marks this well-researched biography, unencumbered by heavy footnoting. The author's long admiration for her subject is evident in her deft handling of the saint's many complexities. A map and chronology would have enhanced the text, and the occasional slip (Teresa would not be "saying Mass") is easily overlooked in the wealth of seamless information provided. This is a good introduction to a fascinating personality by a non-Catholic who leaves others to probe Teresa's spirituality and theology more deeply. Recommended for general collections.--Anna M. Donnelly, St. John's Univ., Jamaica, NY Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

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