Worshipper and Worshipped: Across the Divide: an Irish Padre of the Great War: Fr. Willie Doyle Chaplain to the Forces 1915-1917 by Carole Hope is published today, the anniversary of the end of the Great War. It is a most interesting chronological account of Fr Doyle’s life with a heavy focus on his time as military chaplain in World War 1. The book is in excess of 700 pages in length, and contains information and letters from Fr Doyle that have never before been published.
I am currently reading a copy of the book – I like it a lot. I think I know Fr Doyle and his story pretty well, but I am still learning things. I am learning a lot about the war, but sometimes I’m also learning things about Fr Doyle’s spirit and character – even though I have read about some events before, approaching them from a different angle, or with a different writing style, opens up new aspects of Fr Doyle’s life and virtues for me.
When I have completed the book I will write a more complete review. But I can say now that I recommend the book for all of those with an interest in Fr Doyle or for all of those with an interest in the Great War. I would say that it is the clearly the definitive treatment of Fr Doyle’s war years – it contains everything that O’Rahilly discussed about the war, and then some.
It will be available in shops (in the UK at least), and it is available for pre-order on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Worshipper-Worshipped-Across-Chaplain-1915-1917/dp/1908336862/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384199194&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=carole+hope+wirshipper+and+worshipped
There is a slight delay in Amazon having the book listed as “in stock”, but I understand that physical copies will be available there very soon. I also understand that ebook versions will be available.
And speaking of books, Lulu, the printers of the classic biography of Fr Doyle by O’Rahilly, have a 20% discount on all of their products until this Friday. The O’Rahilly biography is the definitive analysis of Fr Doyle’s spiritual life. The discount code is CORNUCOPIA – enter this when purchasing the book. The book can be found here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/professor-alfred-orahilly/father-william-doyle-sj/paperback/product-15463211.html;jsessionid=7E11769C43CF73B9FD2FFC4253EAFDDA
However, don’t let this discount offer deter you from buying Carole’s new biography – buy both if you can! One is a spiritual classic and definitive assessment of Fr Doyle’s inner life. The other contains new research and material relating to the war that O’Rahilly did not published, and is the definitive treatment of Fr Doyle’s military service.
By the way, this blog has no financial relationship with these products, so they are not being “pushed” for any financial gain! The website is entirely self-funded. Sometimes I am told that WordPress includes some ads at the bottom of the page. I do not gain from those either – I would have to pay extra to have them removed – it is something that I may do in the coming months.