Edmund Campion: Hero of God's Underground

by Fr. Harold C. Gardiner S.J.

An inspiring dramatic account of the colorful and courageous life and death of the martyr. St. Edmund Champion, "hero of God's underground" during the persecutions of the Catholic Church in England in the 1500s. This exciting story is reprinted from the famous "Vision Books" series of lives of the saints that is one of the most popular and well-told stories for young people.

Champion, the most celebrated young scholar of his day, was on his way to becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury until a crisis of conscience turned him back to his Catholic faith, He fled England, became a Jesuit priest, and was sent back to be the leader of the underground ministry to the persecuted Catholics until, after a long and frustrated search, the government finally captured him and brutally executed him. His daring and brilliant underground ministry to Catholics all over England, his zeal for the faith, and his great courage and joy in the face of martyrdom are all related in this compelling story for youth.

Genres: Catholic, Biography, Childrens, Religion

180 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1992

About the author

He was a noted priest, editor, and teacher, known for his work in English literature, and passed away in 1969 in Denver, Colorado

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. There wasn't much dialog but it was still good and kept me interested. I didn't realize that Fr. Campion was tortured so much before his death. He was very heroic throughout it all, of course. Inspiring.

It also put a new perspective on the Roses Have Thorns book about Queen Elizabeth...she was a lot more cruel than Sandra Byrd made her out to be.

[Diana M. Caruthers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and inspirational story of a Jesuit priest who gave all for his faith. He had such a learned way with words and before his conversion go Catholicism, he was looked upon favorably by Queen Elizabeth and her counsel. Through all he had to endure in the tower, he never lost faith. Even in dying, he won souls for Christ.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for those who want to start learning about St. Edmund Campion and the Jesuit mission in England. The book has several awesome quotes from his letters, including the full text of his "Brag" which is his heroic challenge to the protestants that no matter what they try to do, they can never stop the Catholic Faith from being spread throughout England.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 5th grader had to choose one of the Vision Books to read for school, and when he came home with Edmund Campion, I wanted to read it, too. We read most of it together, but, last night as the net closed, he stayed up and kept reading and then, when I went to catch up today, I read past his bookmark to the end. Fantastic.

[Liesl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a biography but it’s really a novelized version of Edmund Campion’s life, so there’s creative liberty in the conversations and descriptions of events. I really enjoyed the content of the book and learning about his life. The writing itself was not the best and slightly juvenile (perhaps that’s the intended audience). Overall though I would recommend it.

[Leila Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

[Vendea]

Gotta re-read this every so often since it constitutes a good 47% of my personality.

[Tammy Schilling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really excellent. My absolute favorite of this series.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Biblia Fyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed after finishing as well as while reading, because, although Edmund Campion is possibly one of the greatest of the English martyes in terms of popularity and the potential for romance, danger, and true heroism, the book ends up trying to convey these things through repetitive, and sometimes insipid, writing. The author had a great subject, but not a great presentation in my mind.

[Arthur Lammers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice quick little piece about a great saint. Somewhat disappointed after reading some of the DeWohl books, as I feel this could have used his treatment of the subject as there is so much good material to use between the man, the times, the relious/political atmosphere, etc. More info about his Jesuit formation might have been nice and maybe further developing the Elizabeth/Walsingham characters would have fleshed the story out more.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

kind of boring until it got VERY torturous at the end. very interesting, i liked it.(kinda) =P I am a Sicko.