Hermits

Peter France spent the first 15 years of his working life as a civil servant in the Fiji Islands. After a spell as an academic, he joined the BBC, first in radio where he launched and presented Kaleidoscope, and later in television, where he wrote and presented programmes such as Everyman and Timewatch. His most recent books are The Rape of Egypt and Greek as a Treat. He lives in Devon but spends much of his time on the Greek island of Patmos.

"This wonderful book is many things by turn: history, biography, philosophy, theology and even a spiritual textbook. With deft and approachable analysis, France lays out a cosmology of the eremetic impulse...The author's wit, discernment and sweet reason for spellbinding." Literary Review "Hermits is informative in a variety of ways and it is clearly and enagingly written, with a wealth of anecdote to leaven the spirtitual insights and the psychology of conversion." -- Barry Unsworth Sunday Telegraph "This is a fine study of some outstanding hermits and a treasury of the wisdom which they bequeathed to posterity." Tablet "Vividly written and highly accessible, it abounds in insights both spiritual and psychological." Spectator