The Spectator (UK)
“Edwards’ picture of what Donne ‘really was’ is more convincing than most.”


Parish News/The Sign, July 2001
“Written with wit and a critical compassion, this account does full justice to its subject...”


The Tablet, May 19, 2001
“David Edwards is to be congratulated for stating the case so clearly, and with eloquence.”


The Irish Times, June 2, 2001
“Pays more attention than most Donne analysts to the sermons, for which obviously he has special qualifications.”


New Statesman, July 2, 2001
“engaging candour in Edwards’ approach…reminds the reader there is more to Donne than a cartoonish amalgam of solipsism and self-hatred.”


New Statesman, July 2, 2001
"Allowing Donne to speak to the reader in his own words, Edwards may save him from such an ignoble fate."


Church Times, October 12, 2001
"Edwards has performed a great service for Donne, as well as his admirers and critics."


The Tennessean, November 11, 2001
“...offers fine interpretations of many poems...Those interested in Donne’s religious development will enjoy the chapters on his sermons.”


Independent on Sunday, December 23, 2001
"A challenging new look at this 'man of flesh and spirit'."


Choice, January 2002
"The book's greatest strength is Edwards's intimacy with Donne's sermons...so commanding that this reviewer can think of no rival."

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Though best known as a poet of love, John Donne was also a peerless writer of the spiritual journey, a stalwart churchman, and a great preacher. Yet behind this famed public face there also lived a lesser known and contradictory figure. Donne fascinates because he was a man battered by sex -- and by God. A compelling new portrait of John Donne emerges in this extraordinary biography. David Edwards ranges across all of Donne's writings, including critically neglected sermons, using them to illuminate Donne's life and vice versa. Itself a masterpiece of writing, this book challenges common views with wit and a critical compassion that does not fail to let Donne speak to readers in his own words. Edwards is not sentimental about Donne's faults and limitations, and he does not try to sound superior to either the poet or the preacher. His aim is to give a living and accurate account of a man who both suffered and gloried in his experience of flesh and spirit.

SYNOPSIS

This is a paperbound reprint of a 2001 book. Now retired from an academic and church career, Edwards explores aspects of the metaphysical poet that he finds others to have neglected. He emphasizes Donne's (1572-1631) relationships with his wife and God, drawing heavily on the ten volumes of his sermons. Annotation c. Book News, Inc.,Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

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