An overlooked aspect of the iconography of the Annunciation investigated - Mary's book.

Mark Byford's 'The Annunciation: A Pilgrim's Quest' explores through conversations with clerics, theologians, historians and laypersons the encounter between the angel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary, a meeting that may be a pivotal point in Christianity. Has the status and significance of the Annunciation been lost in today's world?

'In the sixth month the Angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings favoured one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus."' The drama, the symbolism, the poignant simplicity of the imagined scene evoked by these words, have proved irresistible to artists over the centuries. Presented here, in a chronological sequence, are over 100 of the finest representations of this encounter. All depicting the same subject, yet all wonderfully and subtly different, these images are an inexhaustible source of pleasure and inspiration, taking the viewer on a journey of meditation through the ages. The design of the book is simple and the theme is unchanging, but the outcome is rich and endlessly varied. While the message is Christian, the human drama of the Annunciation has a universal appeal: the artists, attempting to express an awe-inspiring mystery, have at the same time invested the scene with the deepest humanity. The images in this book are simultaneously expressions of religious devotion, depictions of human drama and emotion, and great works of art.

Short story-writer Ellen Gilchrist's first novel is set among the upper crust in New Orleans.

This book presents a thorough and enjoyable examination of the Annunciation to Mary in salvation history. Eugene LaVerdiere, SSS, noted scripture scholar, enters into Luke's story of the Annunciation to Mary as an ardent connoisseur of art might enter into a painting to view it from the inside. Noting the tradition that Luke was an artist, LaVerdiere explores Luke's account of the Annunciation in ways that reveal the Evangelist's artistry as a storyteller, his theology, and his faith. Each of the six chapters at the heart of the book examines a particular phase of the Annunciation story from linguistic and theological points of view. LaVerdiere's scholarship and deep faith lead the reader to a deeper and fuller appreciation of the Evangelist's artistry as well as to a consideration of the depth of the mystery revealed in the scriptural account. Readers will find LaVerdiere's analysis not only thorough and professional, but also enlightening and evocative. Book jacket.

Divine Conception: The Art of the Annunciation asks the questions: How to evoke the invisible in the visible? How to convey the divine in the human?Focussing on twelve specific aspects of the Annunciation (for instance, where Mary is reading, or where Joseph is present at the event), the book explores images (paintings, illuminated manuscripts, ivories, mosaics, sculpture, wall paintings, metal work) in the context of the period when they were made. Each chapter reflects on contemporaneous treatises, sermons, patron's requirements, devotional practices, artistic conventions, theological concerns, that informed the artist and his audience.The works of art discussed relate to the Latin West from the earliest times, with a cut-off date towards the middle of the 16th century.

A moving and beautifully written story about a British poet’s conversion from staunch atheism to Catholicism in the space of nine electric months. In 2010, Sally Read was heralded as one of the bright young writers of the British poetry scene. Feminist, atheist and deeply anti-Catholic, she was writing a book about women’s reproduction and sexuality when, during her research, she spoke with a Catholic priest. That mysterious encounter led Read on a dramatic journey of spiritual quest and discovery which ended up at the Vatican itself, where she was received into the Catholic Church in December of that year. This story is one that, unsurprisingly, has the vivid flavor and beauty of poetry. Read relates her encounters with the Father, the Spirit and then the Son, exactly in the way they were given to her—timely, revelatory and compelling. These transforming events throw new light onto the experiences of her past—her father’s death, her work as a psychiatric nurse, her life as a single woman in London, as a mother and as a writer. She reveals how she developed a close intimacy with the new love that erupted into her life, Christ himself, and how she comes to embrace a doctrine she had previously rejected as bigoted and stifling. Sally Read’s story is a testimony to the powerhouse of Christianity: divine love and the life-changing encounter with Christ.