553 ratings | 127 reviews | avg rating:3.75

more photos (1)

Marie’s Year In Books

Marie’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Marie’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Marie’s 2025 Year in Books

Marie Clausén’s Followers (13)

Marie’s Bookshelves

to-read (362)
currently-reading (8)
read (561)
abandoned (5)

Marie’s Friends (20)

Tanya

1,240 books | 7 friends

Frieantpieaggio

1,190 books | 4 friends

Jessica

1,196 books | 40 friends

Laurie

552 books | 32 friends

Mireille Lapensee

588 books | 70 friends

Chris

56 books | 11 friends

Andrew Williams

0 books | 177 friends

Annie

287 books | 23 friends

More friends…

Marie Clausén

Goodreads Author

Genre

Nonfiction

Member Since

October 2011

edit data

Marie Clausén holds bachelor’s degrees in Political Science (Gothenburg University, Sweden), Sociology (Lund University, Sweden), and Art History (Uppsala University, Sweden), and master’s degrees in International Relations (University of Reading, UK) and Art History (Uppsala University).
Among her diverse interests, medieval church architecture, the phenomenology of space, the dilemmas of cultural heritage, and the practice of ekphrastic writing remain prominent. Clausén is also a published poet, and has spent twenty years in the academic book publishing industry – on both sides of the Atlantic and in a variety of editorial roles.
She currently resides in Ottawa, Canada, where she is pursuing a PhD in Religious Studies at the University of ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Marie Clausén questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

What are you currently working on?

Marie Clausén My love affair with old churches continues for the time being. While Sacred Architecture in a Secular Age: Anamnesis of Durham Cathedral uses the exam…moreMy love affair with old churches continues for the time being. While Sacred Architecture in a Secular Age: Anamnesis of Durham Cathedral uses the example of a well-known and much revered monument to explore the values and roles of sacred space in our time, I have a notion to make things more difficult for myself by widening the frame. After all, while the great cathedrals of Europe will probably remain standing and sanctified one way or another, the future may be significantly more precarious for smaller country churches with less of a claim to historical or art-historical distinction. I would like to make a study of the actual and potential province of country churches, and – to paraphrase Sir Lancelot, in earnest as much as in jest – since they have need of a knight-champion, then do I offer myself as such a champion!(less)

flag

like
Comment

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Marie Clausén I have always loved churches – the smell of burning candles, the oblique and lambent light, the ascetic beauty of stone floors and wooden pews, the sw…moreI have always loved churches – the smell of burning candles, the oblique and lambent light, the ascetic beauty of stone floors and wooden pews, the swell of an organ transforming the space into an aquarium of sound, and the many serious faces of Mary and of her son nearing us to death and to grief, a theory in images from which we know that practice will ineluctably follow.

Like many others, I experienced a thrilling metaphysical awakening in adolescence and briefly counted myself a Christian of sorts. I had read the Bible cover to cover at thirteen, paid visits to an excommunicated Catholic priest, attended Methodist and Baptist services and, not being willing to take anything as writ, asked awkward questions wherever I went. Ultimately, the seeking that had led into Christianity also led out of it, the need for the particularity of denominational faith shed, but a sense of the numinous remaining.

Critically, my feeling for churches remained the same as it ever was. I struggled to understand this and was discomfited by what I perceived to be a trace of something inauthentic and superficial in myself: how could I persist in enjoying the atmosphere of churches after I had eschewed the belief that was the very raison d'être of those spaces? Had I perhaps all along just been attracted to the aesthetic dimensions of churches and liturgical rites? Or is there something else, even now, beyond the stupendous magnificence of Romanesque columns or the sublime chasms and scarps of Gothic naves that finds a correspondence to an essential but unknown and wordless part of me?

The impetus for this study arose out of a desire to wrangle with these questions, for my own sake certainly, but ultimately in an attempt to arrive at a proper reason for why, and how, we ought to take seriously the safeguarding of churches for people, wherever they might find themselves on the belief spectrum.(less)

flag

like
Comment

See 2 answers from Marie Clausén…

Combine Editions
Marie Clausén’s books

Average rating: 5.0 · 5 ratings · 4 reviews · 2 distinct works

	Sacred Architecture in a Secular Age: Anamnesis of Durham Cathedral it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2016 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sacred Architecture in a Secular Age: Anamnesis of Durham Cathedral 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

Marie is Currently Reading

Marie is currently reading

Value(s): Building a Better World for All

by Mark Carney

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Aug 24, 2025 02:19PM

Marie is currently reading

The Dramatic Liturgy of Anglo-Saxon England (Anglo-Saxon Studies, 1) (Volume 1)

by M. Bradford Bedingfield

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Aug 24, 2025 02:18PM

Marie is currently reading

Norfolk Parish Treasures: North and West Norfolk

by Peter Tolhurst

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Nov 09, 2024 12:34PM

rss
Marie’s Recent Updates

Marie wants to read Vägmärken by Dag Hammarskjöld	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 28, 2025 07:34PM · like
Marie rated a book liked it The Windsor Knot (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #1) by S.J. Bennett (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 28, 2025 07:34PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Marie rated a book it was amazing Holy Ghosts: Classic Tales of the Ecclesiastical Uncanny (British Library Tales of the Weird) by Fiona Snailham	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 11, 2025 04:16PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Holy Ghosts by Fiona Snailham. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Holy Ghosts by Fiona Snailham <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Marie recommended Holy Ghosts: Classic Tales of the Ecclesiastical Uncanny (British Library Tales of the Weird) to Chris Holy Ghosts: Classic Tales of the Ecclesiastical Uncanny (British Library Tales of the Weird) by Fiona Snailham	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 11, 2025 04:16PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Holy Ghosts by Fiona Snailham. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Holy Ghosts by Fiona Snailham <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Marie rated a book it was amazing Holy Ghosts: Classic Tales of the Ecclesiastical Uncanny (British Library Tales of the Weird) by Fiona Snailham	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 11, 2025 04:16PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Holy Ghosts by Fiona Snailham. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Holy Ghosts by Fiona Snailham <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Marie is currently reading The Windsor Knot (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #1) by S.J. Bennett (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 11, 2025 04:14PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Marie rated a book really liked it Coot Club by Arthur Ransome	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 11, 2025 04:13PM · like
Marie rated a book really liked it A Nye of Pheasants (Birder Murder Mystery, #8) by Steve Burrows	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The best one yet. Burrows has learned his craft and is now a consummate mystery novelist.
Nov 09, 2025 11:33AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Nye of Pheasants by Steve Burrows. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Nye of Pheasants by Steve Burrows <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Marie wants to read A Magic Still Dwells: Comparative Religion in the Postmodern Age by Kimberley C. Patton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 09, 2025 11:33AM · like
Marie rated a book really liked it A Nye of Pheasants (Birder Murder Mystery, #8) by Steve Burrows	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The best one yet. Burrows has learned his craft and is now a consummate mystery novelist.
Nov 09, 2025 11:33AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Nye of Pheasants by Steve Burrows. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Nye of Pheasants by Steve Burrows <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Marie's books…

Marie’s Quotes

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
― William Butler Yeats

tags: education, lifelong-learning

1631 likes

“Survival is insufficient.”
― Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven

909 likes

“Obsessions are the only things that matter.”
― Patricia Highsmith

tags: autism, matter, meaning, obsessions

377 likes

“The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled. Each evening we see the sun set. We know that the earth is turning away from it. Yet the knowledge, the explanation, never quite fits the sight.”
― John Berger, Ways of Seeing

tags: connections, explanations, knowledge, seeing

224 likes

“But not all dark places need light, I have to remember that.”
― Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

241 likes

More of Marie’s quotes…

Marie’s Friend Comments

No comments have been added yet.

Marie Clausén’s Followers (13)

Marie Clausén

Goodreads Author

Popular Answered Questions

rssMarie’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett

See a Problem?

Preview — Holy Ghosts by Fiona Snailham

See a Problem?

Preview — Holy Ghosts by Fiona Snailham

See a Problem?

Preview — Holy Ghosts by Fiona Snailham

See a Problem?

Preview — The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett

See a Problem?

Preview — A Nye of Pheasants by Steve Burrows

See a Problem?

Preview — A Nye of Pheasants by Steve Burrows

rss
Marie’s Recent Updates