My Way of Faith
London: J.M. Dent and Sons, 1937. First edition. Octavo, original heather gray cloth, red top stain, original dust jacket. Near-fine book with academic owner signature, dated 1953, to corner of free front endpaper and scattered notes to rear endpapers. Very good dust jacket with toned, stained, and chipped spine. Item #213
"I HAVE PASSED THROUGH A PERIOD OF RELIGIOUS CRISIS, I HAVE THOUGHT MUCH ON RELIGIOUS QUESTIONS, AND I OFFER HERE MY PERSONAL REACTION TO THAT CRISIS"
First edition of M.D. Petre's autobiography, a philosophical memoir of the Modernist Crisis in the Church in the early twentieth century. Uncommon.
Maude Dominica Petre was born into an old Catholic Recusant family. A family member, Lord Petre, was a founder of the Cisalpine Club and active on behalf of Catholic emancipation late in the 18th century. Petre was embroiled in the Modernist controversy and her compassionate portraits of Friedrich von Hügel, Henri Bremond, Alfred Loisy, and especially George Tyrrell are definitive. Contents: Part I. Childhood and Early Religious Training, Part II. Youth and Middle Life, Part III. Process of Religious Belief, Part IV. Modernism, Part V. Three Friendships, Part VI. Before, During, and Since the Great War, Part VII. The Final Quest.
The publisher echoed Petre's stance with a decidedly modern design for the book, employing a sans-serif type-face for a bold, unapologetic dust jacket (somewhat unusual for the Art Deco era). Dedicated "To / Paul and Lilly Desjardins / and my much loved / friends of Pontigny." With a brief Foreword, initialed and dated "December, 1936" and a longer Introduction, initialed and dated "Storrington, Sept. 1936." The rear inner flap prints a li.
Price: $100.00