English Catholic Historians and the English Reformation, 1585-1954 - by John Vidmar (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

For almost 400 years, Roman Catholics have been writing about the English Reformation, but their contributions have been largely ignored by the scholarly world and the reading public. Thus the myths of corrupt monasteries, a 'Bloody' Mary, and a 'Good' Queen Bess have established themselves in the popular mind. John Vidmar re-examines this literature systematically from the time of the Reformation itself, to the early 1950s, when Philip Hughes produced his monumental Reformation in England.

Review Quotes

"In English Catholic Historians and the English Reformation, 1585-1954, Father John Vidman, O.P. puts Catholic writers back into the debate on the nature of the Reformation in England. His book shines a spotlight on the central issue of the papacys claim to spiritual authority, from the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth, to the controversies surrounding Catholic Emancipation, to the twentieth centurys Aidan Gasquet, Hilaire Belloc and Philip Hughes. In tracing important changes to the practice of writing history, Father Vidmar shows that the best historians over the centuries have usually collected the best documents." -- Susan Wabuda, Fordham University

About the Author

John Vidmar OP has taught History at the Ohio Dominican College, Providence College, and at the Dominican House of Studies, where he served as Associate Professor, Academic Dean, Acting President and Prior. He has lectured extensively at the Smithsonian Institution (a History of the Popes, a History of the Reformation, a History of Religious Orders, and the English Christian Literary Revival of the Twentieth Century). His present position is at the Priory of Saint Thomas Aquinas at Providence College, Rhode Island.