Carol Poston is a professor emerita of English and coordinator of women's studies at Saint Xavier University, Chicago. She is the editor of Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.

"An engaging book."--Presence:  An International Journal of Spiritual Direction "[Underhill] reminds us how Christian women of the last century were able to exercise intellectual influence and unofficial leadership with faithfulness and love."--Commonweal "This correspondence reveals the intimate Evelyn Underhill--friend, spiritual guide, wife, pacifist--whose life spanned the age of Victoria through the horrors of two global wars. These letters serve as a companion piece to Underhill's pioneering books on mysticism and the spiritual life and explore the making of this foremother of contemporary spirituality. Carol Poston has retrieved a treasure for all of us."--Dana Greene, author of Evelyn Underhill: Artist of the Infinite Life "Evelyn Underhill's public voice was strong and confident, often choosing language from the middle of the road, while her private writings often reveal tremendous insecurities and perspectives from the margins. These letters are a rich resource for those of us who study Underhill's life and writings."--Todd E. Johnson, coauthor of Performing the Sacred: Theology and Theatre in Dialogue

• Acknowledgments vi Introduction ix A Note on Editorial Practice xix One The Early Years: 1888-1905 1 Two Toward Mysticism: 1906-10 84 Three A Dark Time: 1911-23 179 Four The Retreat Years: 1924-34 224 Five Worship unto Death: 1935-41 280 Index 353

Carol Poston is a professor emerita of English and coordinator of women's studies at Saint Xavier University, Chicago. She is the editor of Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.

"An engaging book."--Presence:  An International Journal of Spiritual Direction "[Underhill] reminds us how Christian women of the last century were able to exercise intellectual influence and unofficial leadership with faithfulness and love."--Commonweal "This correspondence reveals the intimate Evelyn Underhill--friend, spiritual guide, wife, pacifist--whose life spanned the age of Victoria through the horrors of two global wars. These letters serve as a companion piece to Underhill's pioneering books on mysticism and the spiritual life and explore the making of this foremother of contemporary spirituality. Carol Poston has retrieved a treasure for all of us."--Dana Greene, author of Evelyn Underhill: Artist of the Infinite Life "Evelyn Underhill's public voice was strong and confident, often choosing language from the middle of the road, while her private writings often reveal tremendous insecurities and perspectives from the margins. These letters are a rich resource for those of us who study Underhill's life and writings."--Todd E. Johnson, coauthor of Performing the Sacred: Theology and Theatre in Dialogue

• Acknowledgments vi Introduction ix A Note on Editorial Practice xix One The Early Years: 1888-1905 1 Two Toward Mysticism: 1906-10 84 Three A Dark Time: 1911-23 179 Four The Retreat Years: 1924-34 224 Five Worship unto Death: 1935-41 280 Index 353

Carol Poston is a professor emerita of English and coordinator of women's studies at Saint Xavier University, Chicago. She is the editor of Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.

"An engaging book."--Presence:  An International Journal of Spiritual Direction "[Underhill] reminds us how Christian women of the last century were able to exercise intellectual influence and unofficial leadership with faithfulness and love."--Commonweal "This correspondence reveals the intimate Evelyn Underhill--friend, spiritual guide, wife, pacifist--whose life spanned the age of Victoria through the horrors of two global wars. These letters serve as a companion piece to Underhill's pioneering books on mysticism and the spiritual life and explore the making of this foremother of contemporary spirituality. Carol Poston has retrieved a treasure for all of us."--Dana Greene, author of Evelyn Underhill: Artist of the Infinite Life "Evelyn Underhill's public voice was strong and confident, often choosing language from the middle of the road, while her private writings often reveal tremendous insecurities and perspectives from the margins. These letters are a rich resource for those of us who study Underhill's life and writings."--Todd E. Johnson, coauthor of Performing the Sacred: Theology and Theatre in Dialogue

• Acknowledgments vi Introduction ix A Note on Editorial Practice xix One The Early Years: 1888-1905 1 Two Toward Mysticism: 1906-10 84 Three A Dark Time: 1911-23 179 Four The Retreat Years: 1924-34 224 Five Worship unto Death: 1935-41 280 Index 353