Delicious entertainments of the soule is a translation of a collection of conferences which Francis de Sales held for the Order of the Sisters of the Visitation. This order took the form of an institute for young girls and widows who wanted to enter a convent but lacked the strength or the inclination for the physical austerities of the great orders. It was for these sisters that Francis held conferences or 'familiar conversations' on religious topics at regular intervals. These conversations were not written out by Francis himself but were noted down and collected by the sisters. Pudentiana Deacon's translation of these transcripts gives the reader an idea of the personality of the speaker. De Sale comes across as a humane, commonsensical, practical man with an occasional sense of humour and a shrewd idea of the specific worries and temptations of his audience.

Delicious entertainments of the soule is a translation of a collection of conferences which Francis de Sales held for the Order of the Sisters of the Visitation. This order took the form of an institute for young girls and widows who wanted to enter a convent but lacked the strength or the inclination for the physical austerities of the great orders. It was for these sisters that Francis held conferences or 'familiar conversations' on religious topics at regular intervals. These conversations were not written out by Francis himself but were noted down and collected by the sisters. Pudentiana Deacon's translation of these transcripts gives the reader an idea of the personality of the speaker. De Sale comes across as a humane, commonsensical, practical man with an occasional sense of humour and a shrewd idea of the specific worries and temptations of his audience.

Through compelling personal stories and in rich detail, McClain reveals the give-and-take interaction between the institutional church in Rome and the needs of believers and the hands-on clergy who provided their pastoral care within England. In doing so, she illuminates larger issues of how believers and low-level clergy push the limits of official orthodoxy in order to meet devotional needs.

Mary M. Schaefer examines the ninth-century church Santa Prassede and its foundation myth, as well as an ideal of balanced male-female relationships and women holding pastoral office in the church of Rome.

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