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Flowering Tree
128 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1979
42 people want to read
About the author
Caryll Houselander
55 books90 followersCaryll Houselander (1901-1954) was a British Roman Catholic laywoman; a mystic, writer, artist, visionary and healer. Born in London in 1901, Caryll was the second of two daughters born to Willmott and Gertrude (nee Provis) Houselander. Her first book, This War is the Passion. written during World War II, launched her prolific writing career. Houselander's talents included painting and many woodcarvings.
Caryll's "divinely eccentric" life was principally a devotion to contemplating Christ in all and men and women and in all life circumstances. Maisie Ward (a friend of Caryll and author of her principal biography, Caryll Houselander: That Divine Eccentric (Sheed & Ward, 1962), states, "Her message can be summed in a single sentence; we must learn to see Christ in everyone." Msgr. Ronald Knox was quoted as saying about Caryll's writing style, " . . . she seemed to see everything for the first time and the driest of doctrinal considerations shone out like a restored picture when she finished it."
Though she remained a single woman throughout her life, Caryll was engaged for a time to Sidney Reilly, who was the model for Ian Fleming's character, "James Bond."
Caryll Houselander has been described as being a mystic in the tradition of Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, and Teresa of Avila. She is best known for her works such as The Reed of God.
Caryll died of cancer on October 12th, 1954. Her bibliography consists of more than seven hundred written works including poems, short stories and articles, articles for juvenile publications and children's books (for some of these she did artwork for as well), articles for various Catholic publications, and, of course, her own books.
Caryll's "divinely eccentric" life was principally a devotion to contemplating Christ in all and men and women and in all life circumstances. Maisie Ward (a friend of Caryll and author of her principal biography, Caryll Houselander: That Divine Eccentric (Sheed & Ward, 1962), states, "Her message can be summed in a single sentence; we must learn to see Christ in everyone." Msgr. Ronald Knox was quoted as saying about Caryll's writing style, " . . . she seemed to see everything for the first time and the driest of doctrinal considerations shone out like a restored picture when she finished it."
Though she remained a single woman throughout her life, Caryll was engaged for a time to Sidney Reilly, who was the model for Ian Fleming's character, "James Bond."
Caryll Houselander has been described as being a mystic in the tradition of Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, and Teresa of Avila. She is best known for her works such as The Reed of God.
Caryll died of cancer on October 12th, 1954. Her bibliography consists of more than seven hundred written works including poems, short stories and articles, articles for juvenile publications and children's books (for some of these she did artwork for as well), articles for various Catholic publications, and, of course, her own books.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 6, 2011
Brilliant. Quite simply an easily overlooked author because she is a religious author.
She is both a very great writer, and poet (this is her volume of poetry) and in her poetry I believe ahead of her time. A fair warning is that she is a truth-teller. I believe that to be truthful with yourself and truthful with others is a very important thing. Caryll tells truths that pierce the soul, and yet free the heart to be more capable of embracing wisdom.
I found her goodreads page without a date of birth or death. There was nothing written about her life, and so I wrote it (with a brilliant editor of course, my mom the religious writer!). Caryll is an extraordinary person to meet on the page. She is a true eccentric, and that is what I like about her most. She offers no apologies for her life or the way she lived it. She is simply Caryll.
How very brave she was!
She is both a very great writer, and poet (this is her volume of poetry) and in her poetry I believe ahead of her time. A fair warning is that she is a truth-teller. I believe that to be truthful with yourself and truthful with others is a very important thing. Caryll tells truths that pierce the soul, and yet free the heart to be more capable of embracing wisdom.
I found her goodreads page without a date of birth or death. There was nothing written about her life, and so I wrote it (with a brilliant editor of course, my mom the religious writer!). Caryll is an extraordinary person to meet on the page. She is a true eccentric, and that is what I like about her most. She offers no apologies for her life or the way she lived it. She is simply Caryll.
How very brave she was!
Displaying 1 of 1 review