Monk Dawson (novel)

Monk Dawson (novel)
Monk Dawson  
MonkDawson.jpg
1st US edition
Author(s) Piers Paul Read
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Publisher Secker & Warburg (UK)
Lippincott (US)
Publication date 1969
Media type Print
Pages 219
ISBN 0-436-40971-2


Monk Dawson, is a novel by English author Piers Paul Read, published in 1969 by Secker and Warburg in the UK and in 1970 by Lippincott in the US, the year it won both the Somerset Maugham Award and Hawthornden Prize. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1998. The first part of the book was based on the author's experiences of Ampleforth College, and in an interview with The Catholic Herald the author reveals that the book was banned from the boarding school.[1]

Reception

  • "A remarkable novel...profoundly moving" - Graham Greene
  • "A Voltairean journey through contemporary panaceas" - The Sunday Telegraph
  • "A fine and assured achievement" - New York Times

Plot introduction

It tells the story of Edward Dawson through the words of his friend Robert Winterman. It begins with their school days at Kirkham, a Roman Catholic boarding school run by Benedictine monks. Edward vows to devote his life to helping people and comes to believe that entering the priesthood to be the best way to fulfil this ambition and stays on at Kirkham, becoming Father John. The [Second Vatican Council]] called by Pope John XXIII has considerable impact on Dawson, who was caught up in reformist zeal; which led to his leaving the monastery and moving into the secular clergy. He works at Westminster Cathedral but finds his faith challenged by the pressures of the world around him and he eventually loses his faith and gives up his vocation. Instead with the help of his friend Robert becomes a journalist, editing the Beaconsfield Gazette, and having left the Church finds himself without friends. But the enigmatic ex-monk finds solace in recently widowed Jenny, one of the women he helped as a priest, and moves in with her...

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Monk Dawson — This article is about the film. For the novel on which it is based, see Monk Dawson (novel). Monk Dawson is a film that was released in 1998, directed and produced by Tom Waller and starring John Michie, Benedict Taylor, Rhona Mitra and Paula… …   Wikipedia

  • Dawson — may refer to: People Dawson (surname) Roger Dawson, author of Secrets of Power Negotiating Fictional characters Dawson, in Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Dawson Leery, on the TV show Dawson s Creek Frank Dawson, character on the 1959 1960… …   Wikipedia

  • Piers Paul Read — (born March 7 1941) is a British novelist and non fiction writer and author. BackgroundRead was born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. He is the son of the poet and art critic Herbert Read.He received his B.A. in 1961 and M.A. in 1962 from… …   Wikipedia

  • John Michie — (born 25 October 1956 in Burma) is a British television and film actor, best known for his role as DI Robbie Ross on the Scottish detective television series Taggart .Born in Burma, and raised in Kenya, when Michie was 12 his family settled in… …   Wikipedia

  • Jane Gaskell — is a British fantasy writer. Gaskell was born in 1941. She wrote her first novel Strange Evil , when she was 14. It was published two years later.In 1970 she received the Somerset Maugham Award for her novel A Sweet Sweet Summer (jointly with… …   Wikipedia

  • Tom Waller — (born Thomas de Warrenne Waller on April 4, 1974 in Bangkok, Thailand) is a film director and producer.Waller studied at Ampleforth College, Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, and the Northern Film School in Leeds, England.… …   Wikipedia

  • Mary Martha Sherwood — Born 6 May 1775(1775 05 06) Stanford on Teme, Worcestershire, England Died …   Wikipedia

  • performing arts — arts or skills that require public performance, as acting, singing, or dancing. [1945 50] * * * ▪ 2009 Introduction Music Classical.       The last vestiges of the Cold War seemed to thaw for a moment on Feb. 26, 2008, when the unfamiliar strains …   Universalium

  • literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… …   Universalium

  • Darius (Highlander) — Darius Highlander character Portrayed by Werner Stocker Born 120 BC, Ural Mountains …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”