Welsh Journals

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The author, a frequent visitor to Caldey and a convert to Roman Catholicism in 1990, carefully and objectively tells the story behind this community of Cistercian monks. This is not a cold institutional history. Howells relies on extracts from the monastery journal, newspaper reports, and recollections to bring out the personal and human side of the saga. Relations with nearby Tenby, conditions during the 1939-45 War, and the struggles to eke out a living from farming give an insight into the monks' lives which the casual observer would miss. The farm, tourist trade, and the perfume business become more meaningful and important when seen against this background of determination and perseverance. Howells's insightful book will continue to remain a valuable addition to the literature of contemporary monastic history. Although closely involved with the island, he writes with detachment and feeling. The photographs, lengthy selections from the abbey journal, and personality sketches of some of the monks animate the pages of this book. This work will appeal to anyone, both the amateur or specialist, interested in ecclesiastical history, local Welsh history, or the monastic tradition. Rene Kollar St Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, PA USA The Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist, Brecon [Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. The Dean and Chapter of Brecon Cathedral, 1994]. 88pp. pbk, illus. £ 6. ISBN 0-9523110-0-3. For many years the best inexpensive guidebooks to great churches were produced by Pitkin Pictorials. Today, old editions of these publications reflect a degree of mid century Neo-Romanticism. Their black and white photographs of cathedral closes and churchyards, free of parked cars, are almost as evocative of the past as the buildings themselves. These books did not pretend to be more than introductions, but they were competent and well presented. Many of today's guidebooks are geared towards mass tourism and speak of a very different world. Although smart and learned tomes are on sale at some great churches, at the bottom end of the price range there are a great number of horrible booklets that tend to resemble holiday brochures and reflect an increasing fascination with tasteless graphics. The history and the descriptions that they contain will often