The Dancing Sun: Journeys to the Miracle Shrines

by Desmond Seward

‘What a good book this makes. It is honest, well informed and beautifully written’ - Evening StandardSeeking reassurance for his waning faith, Desmond Seward visited seven European shrines where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared. They include Hriushiw in the Ukraine, Medjugorje in Herzegovina, Svata Hora in Bohemia, Czechochowa in Poland, Garabandal in Spain, Fatima in Portugal and Walsingham in England.On each occasion of the Virgin’s visit, the sun is said to have danced. Mary is also said to have foretold the collapse of Marxism and warned of disasters such as Chernobyl. But the main reason for her appearances has been to call people back to faith.This is one man’s story of his attempt to revitalise his Christian faith, and is one that will resonate with anyone regardless of faith or faithlessness.‘A travelogue-cum-autobiography which is both tender and honest. Whether you believe him is irrelevant to the pleasure his book will give’ - Daily Telegraph‘Seward’s style is an attractive mixture of reportage and travel writing. If he convinces, it is by the velvet elegance of his prose and by his evident sincerity’ - Literary ReviewDesmond Seward is a British popular historian, best known for The Hundred Years War , never out of print since 1978, The Wars of the Roses and Richard III - all republished by the Folio Society. His latest is The Demon's Brood , a history of the Plantagenet kings in one short volume.

Genres: Religion

201 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Desmond Seward was an Anglo-Irish popular historian and the author of over two dozen books. He was educated at Ampleforth and St, Catherine's College, Cambridge. He was a specialist in England and France in the Middle Ages and the author of some thirty books, including biographies of Eleanor of Aquitane, Henry V, Richard III, Marie Antoinette and Metternich.

Reviews

[Chels S · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very confused and undiscerning author.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A chaotic read. Personal melancholic and anxious religious faith (unresolved), mixed with his personal critical travel notes, mixed with some historical research stuck in.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book doesn't deserve a review because it is so mediocre. The phenomena of 'apparitions' of the Virgin Mary deserves much better then this book, whether you believe in them or not. Rather then waste time on this sort of superficial tosh go and read something such as 'Marpingen' by David Blackbourn or 'Visionaries' by William Christian. They will help you place in context the Marian appearances and help you to understand - they do not waste time trying to say if the apparitions or real or fictitious, they just look at and study them - and the result is fascinating and e3nlightening because in both cases covered in the books mentioned you might expect to find a clerical style conspiracy for political reasons - but nothing is further from the truth. These events are extraordinary, but they can tell us a great deal if we remove ourselves from credulous acceptance or condemnation.

To return to this book, it is just a tremendous disappointment and waste of time.