53. Glamorous Powers

By Susan Howatch
Rated ★★★★★


This is the second book in the Starbridge series and one of my favorites. I love Jon who is rather aply described in a later book as “an old pirate.” This description fits him to a tee, especially Captain Jack Sparrow has come along and pretty much sold me on pirates.

Jon Darrow, an Anglican priest and abbot with psychic abilities, has a vision that he interprets as God's instruction to leave his religious order, a monastery that has been his home for seventeen years. . "In this witty, wise novel, the question 'Does God exist?' is always understood and, true to life, ambiguously answered,"

51. Glittering Images

by Susan Howatch
Rated: ★★★★½


No reread adventure of mine would be complete with including the six Starbridge novels. (actually seven because I am going to include the first novel in her St. Benet series which I feel should rightly belong in the Starbridge series. ) While I will usually do not read books that have a religious agenda, these books have found a place in my heart and a permanent spot on my keeper shelves.

Charles Ashworth a protegee of the Archbishop of Canterbury is sent to investigate the possibly scandalous conduct of Alex Jardine, a bishop who criticized his superiors position on marriage and divorce. He does not expect however to find himself falling in love. His encounters with the hypnotically enigmatic Jardine and his unusual household forces Charles and the reader on an agonizing exploration of the psyche behind the seemingly flat character of a superficial clergyman.

Some of this story is just a tad melodramatic but I overlooked that because I liked the overall story so much.