The Book of Her Life

The Hackett edition of Teresa of Avila's spiritual autobiography features Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez's authoritative translation of The Book of Her Life with a new Introduction by Jodi Bilinkoff that will prove especially valuable to students of Early Modern Spain, the history of Christian spirituality, and classic women writers.  A map, chronology, and index are also included.

SKU
26670g

Teresa of Avila
Translated, with Notes, by Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD & Otilio Rodriguez, OCD; Introduction by Jodi Bilinkoff

2008 - 392 pp.

Grouped product items
Format ISBN Price Qty
Paper 978-0-87220-907-7
$14.00
Instructor Examination (Review) Copy 978-0-87220-907-7
$3.00

The Hackett edition of Teresa of Avila's spiritual autobiography features Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez's authoritative translation of The Book of Her Life with a new Introduction by Jodi Bilinkoff that will prove especially valuable to students of Early Modern Spain, the history of Christian spirituality, and classic women writers.  A map, chronology, and index are also included.

 

Reviews:

"The Hackett edition of Teresa of Avila's spiritual autobiography will prove especially valuable to students of Early Modern Spain, the history of Christian spirituality, and classic women writers."
     —Theological Book Review

 

"Intent on rendering Teresa into clear modern English, Kavanaugh and Rodriguez have produced a singularly direct yet thoroughly readable version of the great mystic.  The translators also provide an Index that is particularly useful for pinpointing Teresa's colorful figures of speech."
     —Theological Studies

 

"[The] translation renders Teresa's story smoothly and has extensive translators' notes . . . for modern readers, especially those not familiar with the famous mystic.  Biblical and thematic indexes also enhance the use of this work for studies of Teresa.
    "The current edition contributes several pages of introduction to Teresa and a breakdown of the book which groups the chapters and summarizes each section.  There is also a map, a chronology, and bibliography.  In short, this book is ideal for a student of history or theology because it not only gives access to a significant primary source, but has plenty of additional resources.  Perhaps an even greater attraction for the student is the price.  In more ways than one, this book puts the story of this extraordinary figure within reach."
     —Magistra: A Journal of Women's Spirituality in History

 

"This monolingual edition valuably synthesizes a scholarly English rendering of Teresa's text with the introduction's incorporation of newer historical and context—both in her Life, that is, in her spiritual practice, her guidance of other nuns, and her writings.  In addition, Bilinkoff uses her own historical work and other changing views in scholarship of the last twenty-five years to present Teresa's role in the Carmelite reform and her impact on subsequent generations of convet writers.
     "For example, earlier views of Teresa as writer frequently cast her as a reluctant of naive 'scribe' either to the mandates of her confessors or dictates of the Holy Spirit.  Here, Bilinkoff contrasts such asessments with more recent insights into Teresa's 'genuine vocation as a writer' as evidenced by her massive literary output as well as 'the importance she attached to helping souls through the written word' (xxiv).  As another example of updated perspective, it is refreshing and accurate here to find the younger John of the Cross (1542-91), who met the nun in 1567, described as Teresa's 'collaborator and spiritual guide . . . [b]ut first, he was her student' (xxiii).
     "A rich resource either for teaching Teresa's Life in English in a literary, religious or women's studies, or historical context.  It can also serve as pedagogical support to teaching in Spanish, aiding students' comprehension of this challenging text.  An additional value of this edtion will be its usefulness to Hispanist scholars seeking a concise review of the scholarly literature on this major work."
     —Amanda Powell, Bulletin of the Society for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies

 

About the Authors:

Kieran Kavanaugh O.C.D. and Otilio Rodriguez O.C.D. are translators of The Collected Works of Saint Teresa of Avila and The Collected Works of Saint John of the Cross, both published by the Institute of Carmelite Studies.
 
Jodi Bilinkoff is Professor of History, University of North Carolina at Greensboro and author of Related Lives: Confessors and Their Female Penitents, 1450-1750 (2005) and The Avila of Saint Teresa: Religious Reform in a Sixteenth Century City (1989), both published by Cornell University Press.