Thy Brother's Wife - (Passover) by Andrew M Greeley (Paperback)

About the Book

A classic novel that tells the tale of two brothers, one a priest and one a senator, who both love the same woman.

Book Synopsis

The direction of Paul and Sean Cronin's lives was shaped the day their father, a self-made multimillionaire, decided that one of his boys would grow up to be a cardinal while the other would become president of the United States.

For his elder son, Paul, the father had even chosen a wife--the beautiful Nora, who had come to the Cronin home as an orphan child years before. Obediently, and with a genuine vocation, the younger son, Sean, went into the priesthood. With a more cynical view, Paul went to Notre Dame to prepare for a life in politics until the Korean War intervened. Then came the news--Paul Cronin was missing in action.

"If he dies," Sean's father told him, "you must leave the seminary and marry Nora." The words sang in Sean's head. Could he renounce his sacred calling--and marry the girl he had always loved?

Long out of print, Thy Brother's Wife is a classic tale by one of America's most loved storytellers.

Review Quotes

"Thy Brother's Wife makes strong statements about important matters--love, morality, power, belief, and human frailty under the pressure of animal drives." --The New York Times Book Review

"The first strength of Thy Brother's Wife is the author's view from within; the rubrics . . . of the Church from the parish to the Vatican ring authentic . . . priests and princes of the Church as fragile human beings, the pains of change, the possibilities and the promise of a transcending, consoling, and supradenominational faith." --Los Angeles Times

"Greeley's turf remains Camelot West: the Chicago of lace-curtain Irish who have pushed their way to the top . . . Greeley the romantic, wishing that life could be full of grace, and Greeley the realistic priest, who knows how dark human souls can be." --Time on Thy Brother's Wife

"Written with verve, economy, and authority about the subjects Greeley knows best - the political shenanigans of Illinois and the subtle but more ominous infighting in the Catholic Church." --Chicago Tribune on Thy Brother's Wife

About the Author

Priest, sociologist, author, and journalist, Father Andrew M. Greeley (1928-2013) was the author of over 50 bestselling novels and more than 100 works of nonfiction. His novels include the Bishop Blackie Ryan series, including The Archbishop in Andalusia; the Nuala Anne McGrail series, including Irish Tweed; the O'Malley Family Saga, including A Midwinter's Tale; and standalones such as Home for Christmas and The Cardinal Sins.

A leading spokesperson for generations of Catholics, Father Greeley unflinchingly urged his beloved Church to become more responsive to believers' evolving concerns. He chronicled his service to the Church in two autobiographies, Confessions of a Parish Priest and Furthermore!