The Complete Short Stories, Volume 1: God's Fairy Tales, Mystics All, and Once Upon Eternity

by Enid Dinnis, Julia Meszaros (Introduction), Bonnie Lander Johnson (Introduction)

Gathered here for the first time are the stories of Enid Dinnis, who lived and wrote in London throughout the first half of the 20th century. Enid Dinnis moved widely in the London literary world but she was also Mother Superior of a 'hidden' religious order, The Daughters of the Heart of Mary. Few in London's literary scene knew that Dinnis was a nun but she lived most of her life in a small convent in Wimbledon with other well-known figures from the period, including Maud Petre. Dinnis wrote Catholic stories for readers of all ages. She is one of the finest lost authors of the Catholic Literary Revival. Dinnis's intervention in the short story genre is considerable. She weaves together fairy tale, myth, Catholic mysticism, epiphanic dialogue and everyday characterization to produce stories that are both simple and complex, both light-hearted and profound. Always concerned with 'the wonderful resourcefulness of the love of God', her stories proclaim the presence and workings of divine grace in the everyday lives of all people―old and young, sceptics and seekers, farmers and priests. Dinnis's stories show that God's love is the answer to all human struggles and quests. They illustrate what it means to receive love – human and divine – and to pass it on. Her work is filled with visions and confessions, miracles and conversions – but it is never overly pious or saccharine. Her characters are real people experiencing the truths proclaimed by the Catholic faith, which is always as marvelous as it is every-day. Enid Dinnis's stories reenchant the post-enlightenment world along Catholic lines. Her stories put the supernatural firmly back into the world in a way that is needed now more needed than ever.

300 pages, Paperback

Published November 22, 2024

Reviews

[Elizabeth]

Buddy reading the fiction in the Catholic Women Writers series with Darryl and Melody has been a gift to my life of faith. The Complete Short Stories of Enid Dinnis was no exception. The introduction was superb as well, and I was underlining line after line. As a fellow 20th century writer and a Christian, Dinnis was confronting that great problem that G.K. Chesterton, George MacDonald, C.S. Lewis, and so many others labored faithfully to combat:

"Modernity, for the most part, perceives the universe as a machine operating according to fixed, mechanistic laws. This understanding has brought with it what Charles Taylor, following Max Weber, has described as the disenchantment of the world" (xxi-xxii).

This is why I find modern history mysteriously both tragic and deeply hopeful, as well as directly related to our lives today, which are even more mechanistic than in Dinnis's time. We've had 100 more years of ingenious humanity's efforts to strip the mystery and majesty of God's world away, leaving us with just its inner mechanical workings. But, as the introduction also says:

"Christianity's core claims confound what modernity has come to accept as 'normal'..." (xxi).

Dinnis specifically wanted the modern world to be re-enchanted through faith, specifically Catholic faith:

"For...Dinnis, our world, likewise, is imbued with great mystery, with a will and a consciousness far beyond our comprehension...the style of her fiction reflects her 'medieval ' vision--that of a sacramental world, a world in which the material is deeply imbued with the spiritual, a world in which God's grace is continually at work, embodied, visible" (xxiv-xxv).

The struggle in my own heart and mind and soul between disenchantment and re-enchantment is ongoing and fierce, but, by God's grace, my own re-enchantment is underway. The seeds of beauty, truth, and goodness that I see early on and throughout my life continue to create out of my life something not at all like a machine and much more like a garden. My reading life is very much a part of that so I feel a deep gratitude for these stories, for Dinnis, for the thoughtful humans behind this series, and for a God who uses starting but marvelous means to reenchant both me and our hungering, longing world.

This collection is split into three smaller collections of Dinnis's work, and I wanted to note my favorites in each (though truly I loved them all).

1. 'God's Fairy Tales': Simple Simon, The Least of the Little Ones, An Atmospheric Effect, The Places which is Called 'God's Presence', Veronica

2. Mystics All: The Signoirina and Sister Colette, Gratias

3. Once Upon Eternity: Mandy of the Crackenshaws, The Walls of Jericho, An Object of Piety

[Melody Schwarting]

A thoroughly enjoyable buddy read with Darryl and Elizabeth. They really are fairy tales--the happy ending almost always someone being received into the Catholic Church. I enjoyed the way Dinnis writes, her sense of humor, her subjects (some biblical, some historical, most contemporary), and her love for God coming through so clearly. So many special moments in these stories--the bluebell wood, the dogs, eternity peeking through time. Reading one story a day was pretty much a devotional practice.

As with all the books I've read in this series, the introduction is just fantastic. May volume 2 come forth swiftly! I hope future editions correct the few minor errors in the text from digital conversion.

[Diarmaid Ó Conghaile]

Both sweet and savoury. Happy endings often included. Perfect palate-cleanser for those who've over-dosed on Flannery O'Connor in their zeal for literature that is both local and universal or I should say both particular and catholic. Excellent introduction by B. Lander Johnson and J. Meszaros.