Fiction
The Australian Classic
by AB Facey
Born in 1894, and first sent to work at the age of eight, Facey lived the rough frontier life of a labourer, farmer and jackaroo. He survived Gallipoli, raised a family through the Depression, lost a son in the Second World War, and met his beloved Evelyn with whom he shared nearly 60 years of marriage. Despite enduring unimaginable hardships, Facey always saw his life as a fortunate one. A true classic of Australian literature, Facey's simply penned story offers a unique window into the history of Australian life through the greater part of the twentieth century.
Paperback, size 8" x 5.5", 432 pages
by Msgr Robert Hugh Benson
This edition features a foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 340 pages
A Novel of the Crucifixion
by Louis de Wohl
This novel of the last days of Christ ranges from the palaces of Rome to the strife-torn hills of Judea - where the conflict of love and betrayal, revenge and redemption, reaches a climax in the drama of the Crucifixion. For this is the full story of the world's most dramatic execution, as it affected on of its least-known participants - Longinus, the man who hurled his spear into Christ on the Cross.
Among his many successful historical novels, Louis de Wohl considered The Spear the magnum opus of his literary career.
Paperback, size 8" x 5.25", 401 pages
by Msgr Robert Hugh Benson
This third of Rober Hugh Benson's "mainstream" novels, The Coward may have been the most shocking to the upper class sensibilities of Benson's day. A young man is faced with challenges and manages to fail at every step. He becomes convinced he is an irredeemable coward - and only then begins to find courage. In a damning indictment of close-minded Edwardian society, a supreme act of courage on the young man's part is mistaken for yet one more craven act.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 312 pages
by Msgr Robert Hugh Benson
This edition features a foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 300 pages
The Holy Blissful Martyr
by Msgr Robert Hugh Benson
This edition features an in-depth foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 132 pages
by Msgr Robert Hugh Benson
In The Necromancers, Robert Hugh Benson sets out to expose the dangers of "Spiritism," interest in which had reached epidemic proportions by the early twentieth century. C. C. Martindale, S.J. commented that, "It is in The Necromancers, that he brings all his heavy artillery to bear on his professed enemy. Here again the uncanny enters, but rises to the heroic level, and achieves the horrible; and I will confess that I can think of no book which reaches so high a pitch of horror, unaided by alien elements."
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 236 pages
by Michael D. Greaney
The late Dr. Ralph McInerny, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame du Lac, once commented that some Catholic novels are so good, they're bad. He meant that the heroes are so virtuous that you simply can't believe them. Worse, the novels try so hard to be "Catholic" that they fail to be catholic, that is, universal, or even any sort of realistic commentary on the human condition.
Worst of all are probably the novels that try to imitate the authors profiled in this appreciation of the fiction of Nicolas Cardinal Wiseman(1802-1865), John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890), and Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914). Part of this is due to the fact that many people misunderstand not only why these writers wrote, but what they wrote. Benson's wonderfully barbed satire, for example, endeared him to Evelyn Waugh, yet it is often characterized as "prophecy"!
This collection of biographical sketches and essays by Mr. Michael D. Greaney, does much to dispel the misimpressions and misunderstandings many people might have of the novels of Wiseman, Newman, and Benson. More than that, this compendium introduces these works to a new generation of readers, and makes it clear that the authors wrote for everyone, not just for Catholics, or even Christians.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 268 pages
by Msgr Robert Hugh Benson
Mixing such seemingly incongruous elements as social satire, near-slapstick, and obsession with death, A Winnowing, first published in 1910, is the first of Robert Hugh Benson's "mainstream novels." An undeservedly overlooked work today, the novel flays Edwardian society in terms that bring to mind the comedy of P. G. Wodehouse, and the black humor of Evelyn Waugh. The influence of A Winnowing is evident in Evelyn Waugh's take on the funeral industry in Southern California (The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy).
This edition features a foreword by Benson scholar Michael D. Greaney.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 224 pages
by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit is the unforgettable story of Bilbo, a peace-loving hobbit, who embarks on a strange and magical adventure.
A timeless classic.
Bilbo Baggins enjoys a quiet and contented life, with no desire to travel far from the comforts of home; then one day the wizard Gandalf and a band of dwarves arrive unexpectedly and enlist his services – as a burglar – on a dangerous expedition to raid the treasure-hoard of Smaug the dragon. Bilbo’s life is never to be the same again.
Seldom has any book been so widely read and loved as J. R.R. Tolkien’s classic tale, ‘The Hobbit’. Since its first publication in 1937 it has remained in print to delight each new generation of readers all over the world, and its hero, Bilbo Baggins, has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals of fiction.
Paperback, size 7.75" x 5", 368 pages
by Msgr Robert Hugh Benson
By What Authority? is Robert Hugh Benson's (1871-1914) first published historical novel. In it he portrays the story of the English Reformation in Elizabethan times from the Catholic point of view. This he achieved without the use of the stereotypes that characterized virtually all such productions in his day to the detriment of both sides of the question.
Travel across the English countryside hunting for priests; then find yourself in the Queen's court. During the Protestant Reformation, Catholics suffered terribly - families were divided; people jailed; priests were hunted down and killed; neighbour turned against neighbour. But through it all, the few priests that remained were able to sustain and convert many. The tale told in this book is one of suspense, deceit, loyalty, martyrdom, truth and conversion.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 560 pages
by Msgr Robert Hugh Benson
A novel in which an apostate priest (on his deathbed) slips into a coma and is given the grace to see the world in a different light; a world in which Christ reigns Supreme. Through this revelation, he discovers the abundant errors of Modernism - the very errors that had led him from the Catholic Faith. A stunning blueprint for the Social Kingship of Christ. A must read for our times.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 268 pages
Saint Dymphna of Ireland
by Susan Peek
An insane king. His fleeing daughter. Estranged brothers, with a scarred past, risking everything to save her from a fate worse than death. Toss in a holy priest and a lovable wolfhound, and get ready for a wild race across Ireland. Will Dymphna escape her deranged father and his sinful desires? For the first time ever, the story of Saint Dymphna is brought to life in this dramatic novel for adults and older teens. With raw adventure, gripping action, and even humor in the midst of dark mental turmoil, Susan Peek's newest novel will introduce you to a saint you will love forever! Teenage girls will see that Dymphna was just like them, a real girl, while young men will thrill at the heart-stopping danger and meet heroes they can easily relate to. If ever a Heavenly friend was needed in these times of widespread depression and emotional instability, this forgotten Irish saint is it!
Paperback, size 9" x 6", 316 pages
I Am Margaret #2
by Corinna Turner
"Bane? Take Margo and go. You've done everything that you can. Just leave me here. I'll be fine." "No, you won't," said Bane. "Fine. I won't. Doesn't make any difference now. Go."
2000 KILOMETERS. THREE YOUNG ADULTS.A CONTINENT-WIDE MANHUNT. CHANCE OF SURVIVAL? NO CHANCE.
Having outwitted the EuroGov by rescuing an entire facility of teens destined for recycling, Margo is on the run. Together with Jon and Bane, she's posing as a summer backpacker. Their only hope is to keep ahead of the government trackers and somehow cross the continent to the last free state in Europe: The Vatican. But just how long will that state remain free if the Three Most Wanted Fugitives in Europe find refuge there?
PRAISE FOR BOOK 1: I AM MARGARET "Great style ... like The Hunger Games." EOIN COLFER, author of Artemis Fowl
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 290 pages
The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans
by Malachi Martin
One On One With Satan. A chilling and highly convincing account of possession and exorcism in modern America, hailed by NBC Radio as "one of the most stirring books on the contemporary scene."
Paperback, size 8" x 5.3", 512 pages
Fabiola
or the Church of the Catacombs
by Cardinal Nicholas Patrick Wiseman
This classic novel plunges us into Rome of the fourth century AD. and depicts the clash between the existing pagan civilization and growing Christianity.
Fabiola is a cultured young patrician woman who admires the ideals of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. One day she discovers that her friend Sebastian of Rome, an officer in the Praetorian Guard, is a Christian. So is one of her slaves, and worse still, her beloved cousin Agnes.
As Maximian reignites the persecution of Christians in Rome, all around Fabiola heroes and traitors clash. “Whoever is not with Me is against Me”, “whoever does not gather with Me scatters”, says Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what is at stake in this drama where the actors show us the best and the worst of what each one can become.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 562 pages
A Novel of the Time of Saint Paul
by Louis de Wohl
In this historical novel first published in 1957, beloved author Louis de Wohl draws readers into the life and times of St. Paul, painting an unforgettable portrait of both the man himself and the first-century world to which he preached the gospel.
Through Paul’s eyes and those of his friends, we follow the great apostle from his role in persecuting Christians, through his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, to his eventual journey to Rome, the center of imperial power. Along the way, we encounter the sights, sounds, and characters of ancient Rome and Judea; witness the quiet spread of the new Christian faith; and are taken behind the scenes into the halls of power, where we meet Herod, Agrippa, Nero, and others.
The result is a vivid picture of a world not so different from our own, a world caught up in materialism, power politics, and paganism, yet yearning for the light of Christ. Readers will come away from this book with a new understanding of New Testament times—and a new appreciation for the singular personality that was Paul of Tarsus. A page-turner and an inspiration to today’s Christians, it is sure to capture the attention of readers both young and old.
Paperback, size 8" x 5.25", 451 pages
A Novel about St Francis of Assisi
by Louis de Wohl
In this magnificent and stirring novel, Louis de Wohl turns his famed narrative skill to the story of the soldier and merchant's son who might have been right-hand man to a king … and who became instead the most beloved of all saints. Set against the tempestuous background of 13th Century Italy and Egypt, here is the magnificent and inspiring story of Francis Bernardone, the brash, pleasure-loving young officer who was to become immortalized as St. Francis of Assisi.
The story teems with action, pageantry and intrigue with finely conceived characters-the beautiful, saintly Clare, Frederick, the hawk-faced King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor, the Sultan Al Kamil, Pope Innocent III. The scene shifts from Assisi, Rome and Sicily to the deadly sands of Egypt.
This book was made into a feature film by 20th Century Fox entitled Francis of Assisi.
Paperback, size 8" x 5.25", 374 pages
A Father Gabriel Mystery #1
by Fiorella de Maria
In this unusual murder mystery, the tranquillity of Saint Mary's Abbey is shattered by the discovery of a gruesome crime in a cottage on the abbey grounds. A foreign artist and war hero seeking refuge from the world has been murdered. Marie Paige, the frail, sickly wife of the village doctor, lies beside him beaten into a coma. The police arrest Marie's husband, convinced that they are looking at a crime of passion. But Dr Paige finds himself with an unlikely champion: Fr. Gabriel, a blundering but brilliant Benedictine priest who believes in his innocence and feels compelled to search for the truth. In a country struggling to come to terms with the devastation of the Second World War, even a secluded English village has its share of secrets and broken lives. It is not long before Fr. Gabriel and his companions find themselves embarking on a dangerous journey into the victims' troubled war histories and a chapter of Europe's bloodiest conflict that is almost too terrible to be acknowledged.
Paperback, size 8" x 5.25", 176 pages
by Msg. Robert Hugh Benson
Who was young Sir Neville Fanning? Why did he call himself a Catholic, and at the same time, lament that he wasn't a very good one? He was convinced that there was something deeper than conventional religion. Denying the cross again and again, he couldn't bear to suffer - even though at every turn Our Lord called him to Himself. He simply could not see the point in submitting to the Divine Will. His "initiation" is a beautiful story of how the surrender was asked - and then won in the end!
Hardcover, size 8.25" x 5.75", 447 pages