Holiness and Happiness

the long version

This volume is in the Canterbury Studies in Spiritual Theology series. It is a kind of Traherne Reader. It has been described as "The best available concise introduction to Traherne's life and work" by the Regius Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge, and as "the finest guide into Traherne that we have" by the Times Literary Supplement. It responds to the renewed interest in Thomas Traherne sparked by the recent discovery of two of his 17c. manuscripts. The book reappraises his significnce not only as a poet but as a theologian and philosopher engaged in the political and social realities of his day. 'Happiness and Holiness' starts with a scholarly introduction and includes extracts from the newest manuscripts, from better known works and from fragments and notebooks -- all of Traherne's known works are represented, making this the most varied and complete collection of his writings available in a single volume.