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  • Published: 25 October 1990
  • ISBN: 9780140182439
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $26.00
Categories:

Helena





Based on the life of Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine and finder of the true cross, this spiritual adventure brings to life the political intrigues of ancient Rome and the early years of Christianity

The Empress Helena made the historic pilgrimage to Palestine, found pieces of wood from the true Cross, and built churches at Bethlehem and Olivet. Her life coincided with one of the great turning-points of history: the recognition of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire. The enormous conflicting forces of the age, and the corruption, treachery, and madness of Imperial Rome combine to give Evelyn Waugh the theme for one of his most arresting and memorable novels.

  • Published: 25 October 1990
  • ISBN: 9780140182439
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $26.00
Categories:

About the author

Evelyn Waugh

Evelyn Waugh was born in Hampstead, London, in 1903. He studied History at Hertford College, Oxford, but left without a degree. After a brief period as a teacher, he published his first book, a biography of the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, in 1928. The same year also saw the publication of his first novel, Decline and Fall, which established his reputation. Further novels, including Vile Bodies (1930), A Handful of Dust (1934) and Brideshead Revisited (1945) were highly acclaimed. Waugh also wrote several travel books and short stories, and was a prolific journalist and book reviewer. Waugh died on Easter Sunday, 1966, at his home in Combe Florey, Somerset.

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Praise for Helena

Mr Waugh is a master of narrative: every sentence compels you to reads its successor

Raymond Mortimer, Sunday Times

It goes without saying that Helena is amusing, shapely, and well-written, and it also contains some extremely witty incidents

New Statesman

Helena was Waugh's most intentional statement about the truth of Christianity and about vocation as the heart of Christian discipleship

George Weigel