"Margaret Cropper was the first to
capture [Evelyn Underhill’s] life, which now in this new
century can continue to inspire, challenge and point the way
for those on the ancient quest for the holy."
—from
the Foreword by Dana Greene, dean
of Oxford College of Emory University
SkyLight Lives reintroduces the lives and
works of key spiritual figures of our time—people who by
their teaching or example have challenged our assumptions about
spirituality and have caused us to look at it in new ways.
Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941) was one
of the most highly acclaimed spiritual thinkers of her day. Her
fresh approach to mysticism provided one of the first
invitations to modern seekers to realize that not only saints
or great holy men could experience the love of God—but
that all people contain within them a capacity for the Divine.
This intimate biography, written by one of
Underhill’s closest friends, allows us to appreciate this
revolutionary woman as both a charming, down-to-earth friend
and a groundbreaking spiritual seeker and guide.
Through letters, personal reminiscences,
and excerpts from Underhill’s much-loved published
writings—including her definitive Mysticism, published in
1911 and continuously in print since then—Margaret
Cropper captures the spirit, journey, and wisdom of one of the
most influential women of the early twentieth century.
Updated with a new foreword by Dana
Greene, dean of Oxford College of Emory University, this
intriguing spiritual portrait includes a brief memoir of Lucy
Menzies, one of Underhill’s closest confidants,
highlighting their remarkable relationship.
This biography of Evelyn Underhill, one of
the greatest spiritual thinkers of the early twentieth century,
guides readers on a voyage through her life and a survey of her
spiritual classics that would forever bring the Divine into the
everyday for countless people.
A passionate writer and teacher who wrote
elegantly on mysticism, worship, and devotional life, Evelyn
Underhill urged the integration of personal spirituality and
worldly action. This is the moving story of how she made her
way toward spiritual maturity, from her early days of
agnosticism to the years when her influence was felt throughout
the world.
An early believer that contemplative
prayer is not just for monks and nuns but for anyone willing to
undertake it, Underhill considered the study of modern science
not as a threat to contemplation but rather an enhancement of
it. Her many lectures and writings on mysticism and
spirituality, including her classic Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of
Man’s Spiritual Consciousness, inspired the many people touched by her unique passion
to take on a spiritual life.
"An engaging and instructive
biography of an extraordinary spiritual woman whose thinking
and soulful life offers much for us to consider."
—Dr.
Robert Coles, Pulitzer
Prize–winner and author of Simone
Weil: A Modern Pilgrimage
Margaret Cropper was a close friend of
Evelyn Underhill for many years. She was the author of many
volumes of poetry, plays, and prayers, and was associated with
many movements for the revival of religious drama.
Dana Greene is
dean of Oxford College of Emory University and a highly
respected authority on Evelyn Underhill’s life and
writing. She is the author of the most comprehensive and
scholarly Underhill biography, Evelyn
Underhill: Artist of the Infinite Life, and editor of Fragments
from an Inner Life: The Notebooks of Evelyn Underhill. She also serves as president of the Evelyn
Underhill Association
http://www.evelynunderhill.org
