Philip Spencer (1) (1924–)

1748 Politics of Belief in Nineteenth Century France Lacordaire : Michon : Veuillot, by Philip Spencer (read 3 Nov 1982) This really interesting book opens with Feb 14, 1831, when a leftist riot led, the next day, to the desecration of Saint-Germain-L'Auxerrois. It ends with the death of Veuillot in 1883. The book centers around the careers of Lacordaire, great Dominican orator who died in 1861, Michon, a priest who wavered but never left the church but wrote anti-Church novels, and Veuillot. I read a biography of Veuillot in January of 1980--this book paints him in a more unfavorable light, and is surely right. The liberal Catholics who battled Veuillot were surely right, as I think the present condition of France shows. The religious history of Europe in the 19th century intrigues me, but it is not a happy story.… (mer)