The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila [Trans. Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez]

[Visionary] [Passionate] [Saint]

The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila

Trans. Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez

One Spirit, NY. 1995. Book Club Edition. Tear to the rear dust jacket upper right corner, some creasing around tear. A very good copy.

From the publisher:

"Born in the Castilian town of Avila in 1515, Teresa entered the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation when she was twenty-one. Tormented by illness, doubts and self-recrimination, she gradually came to recognize the power of prayer and contemplation--her spiritual enlightenment was intensified by many visions and mystical experiences, including the piercing of her heart by a spear of divine love. She went on to found seventeen Carmelite monasteries throughout Spain. Teresa always denied her own saintliness, however, saying in a letter: "There is no suggestion of that nonsense about my supposed sanctity." This frank account is one of the great stories of a religious life and a literary masterpiece--after Don Quixote, it is Spain's most widely read prose classic. "

That is fascinating about the last piece - did you think this would be the second most widely ready book out of Spain? Well, it's a lovely tale, and St. Teresa of Avila is likely the most important figure of visionary mysticism of the last thousand years. Take it in folks! It's a beauty.