Catherine of Siena by Sigrid Undset
Sigrid Undset's Catherine of Siena is critically acclaimed as one of the best biographies of this well known, and amazing fourteenth-century saint. Known for her historical fiction, which won her the Nobel Prize for literature in 1928, Undset based this factual work on primary sources, her own experiences living in Italy, and her profound understanding of the human heart. One of the greatest novelists of the twentieth century, Undset was no stranger to hagiography. Her meticulous research of medieval times, which bore such fruit in her multi-volume masterpieces Kristin Lavransdatter and The Master of Hestviken, acquainted her with some of the holy men and women produced by the Age of Faith. Their exemplary lives left a deep impression upon the author, an impression Undset credited as one of her reasons for entering the Church in 1924. Catherine of Siena was a particular favorite of Undset, who also was a Third Order Dominican. An extraordinarily active, intelligent, and courageous woman, Catherine at an early age devoted herself to the love of God. The intensity of her prayer, sacrifice, and service to the poor won her a reputation for holiness and wisdom, and she was called upon to make peace between warring nobles. Believing that peace in Italy could be achieved only if the Pope, then living in France, returned to Rome, Catherine boldly traveled to Avignon to meet with Pope Gregory XI. With sensitivity to the zealous love of God and man that permeated the life of Saint Catherine, Undset presents a most moving and memorable portrait of one of the greatest women of all time.Sigrid Undset (1882-1949), the eldest daughter of a Norwegian father and a Danish mother, was born in Denmark. Her family relocated to Oslo two years after her birth, where her father, a renowned archaeologist, lectured at the university. Undset was greatly influenced by her father's interest in the past. She was particularly enthralled by the dramatic Old Norse sagas she read as a kid, later remarking that her first encounter with them was the most significant turning point in my life. Mrs. Undset was Undset's first published piece.
Marta Oulie (1907) and The Good Era (1908), a collection of short stories set in modern circumstances, were critical and popular successes. Undset had the opportunity to explore the culture that had initially piqued her interest as a writer, and in Gunnar's Daughter (1909), she drew on her knowledge of Norwegian history and mythology, especially the Icelandic Sagas, to reconstruct medieval life with captivating immediacy. Undset married the painter Anders Castus Svarstad in 1912 and faced the difficult task of parenting three stepchildren and her own three children with no financial or emotional support from her husband over the next ten years. Her marriage was ended in 1924 after Undset converted to Catholicism, and she and her children eventually moved from Oslo to Lillehammer.
Undset's passion with the Middle Ages never waned, and she released The Wreath, the first volume of her most renowned work, Kristin Lavransdatter, in 1920, despite writing more modern novels, a collection of feminism essays, as well as numerous book reviews and newspaper articles. The Wife was published in 1921, while The Cross was published in 1922. Undset's first great medieval epic, the four-volume The Master of Hestviken (1925-1927), garnered her international renown, and her second great medieval epic, The Master of Hestviken (1925-1927), cemented her reputation as one of the twentieth century's best writers. She was only the third woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, at the age of 46, in 1928.
During the 1930s, Undset published numerous books, notably the autobiographical The Longest Years, as well as various collections of essays. Undset, an outspoken Nazi critic, fled Norway in 1940 as the Germans moved through the country, eventually settling in Brooklyn, New York. She returned to Norway in 1945 and received Norway's highest medal two years later for her exceptional literary achievement and dedication to the country. But, her years of exile had taken their toll, and she died of a stroke on June 10, 1949.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781586174088 |
| ISBN 10 | 1586174088 |
| Title | Catherine of Siena |
| Author | Sigrid Undset |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Ignatius Press |
| Year published | 2009-10-01 |
| Number of pages | 335 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |