“Contemplated in the episodes of the Gospels and in the reality which she already possesses in the City of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary offers a calm vision and a reassuring word to modern man, torn as he often is between anguish and hope, defeated by the sense of his own limitations and assailed byContinue reading “Torn between anguish and hope”
Author Archives: Roy Peachey
The Exultet and bees
Every Easter, I am amazed by the sheer beauty of the Exultet, the great hymn of praise that is proclaimed at the start of the Easter Vigil. What wonderful poetry it is:
A Nature Journal
When we talk about books, we tend to mean printed books, but there is more to literature than what has been published.
‘Spring’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Nothing is so beautiful as Spring – When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush; Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing; The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush The descending blue;Continue reading “‘Spring’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins”
Grace Lin’s ‘Where the Mountain Meets the Moon’
Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is the most enjoyable children’s book I have read in a long time. It is surely destined to become a 21st century Classic.
‘God’s Grandeur’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins
The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil; It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod? Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;Continue reading “‘God’s Grandeur’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins”
Hilda van Stockum – ‘The Mitchells: Five for Victory’
In this meeting of our virtual book club, I look at the moment in Hilda van Stockum’s The Mitchells: Five for Victory when Miss Merryvale, the lodger, arrives and chaos ensues:
St Eanswythe and the Plague
Honestly, it’s cheerier than the title makes it sound. Here’s my article for Catholic World Report on St Eanswythe and the Plague, with quite a lot of the Venerable Bede thrown in for free.
Who needs schools anyway?
And here’s an earlier article I wrote for UnHerd: ‘Who needs schools anyway? What homeschooling taught me – and my kids‘. I should point out that I didn’t write the headline!
The secrets of successful home teaching
Here’s a recent article I wrote for UnHerd on ‘The secrets of successful home teaching‘.
Some recent articles on making the most of isolation
I have been writing quite a few articles in the last few days and weeks, so I thought it would be a good idea to post links to them here. First up is my article for The Catholic Herald on ‘Making the most of isolation: How to strike a balance in homeschooling‘.
By yonde ys a wyldernys of quarentyne
By yonde ys a wyldernys of quarentyne, Wher Cryst wyth fastyng hys body dyd pyne; In that holy place, as we rede, The deuyl wold had of stonys bred; Aboue that wyldernys ryght fer and hy The fende to Cryst schewyd regna mundi, And sayde, ‘Yf thow wylt me worschyp do Al these shalt thouContinue reading “By yonde ys a wyldernys of quarentyne”
A hundred years ago today
Why? To find out more have a look at my novel, Between Darkness and Light.
Teaching our children at home
My latest article for UnHerd on ‘The secrets of successful home teaching’ is now available: https://unherd.com/2020/03/how-to-survive-as-a-home-teacher/ . I hope it helps.
Introducing a new reading group
Now that we have lots of time to read, I am pleased to introduce a new reading group that focuses on children’s books. In this first episode I introduce the group and our first book – Hilda van Stockum’s The Mitchells: Five for Victory. https://anchor.fm/roy-peachey0/embed/episodes/Introducing-a-childrens-book-club-ebnbj9/a-a1nvknb
The Second Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians
“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. “Why, we felt that we had received the sentence of death …” So said St Paul in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, but heContinue reading “The Second Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians”
Cynthia Harnett’s ‘The Wool-Pack’
Cynthia Harnett’s The Wool-Pack is a fascinating book in all sorts of ways. I wonder, for a start, how a contemporary publisher would react to any author who presented a book to them on the 15th century wool trade? But The Wool-Pack is by no means a dry, historical tome. The winner of the 1951 Carnegie Medal (theContinue reading “Cynthia Harnett’s ‘The Wool-Pack’”
New Website
St Anthony Communications have a new website with all sorts of interesting books, videos and other material available. There’s also an area of free content, which includes some of my essays. I’m delighted to be in the company of Fr Andrew Pinsent, Sr Mary of the Trinity and Fr Peter Stravinskas and am delighted thatContinue reading “New Website”
An Invitation
On Wednesday 1st April, I shall be giving a talk at Redhill Library, Surrey, about my novel, Between Darkness and Light, and the amazing story of the Chinese Labour Corps in World War I that appears in its pages. The coffee morning lasts from 10.30 – noon and I would be delighted if you wereContinue reading “An Invitation”
Kathy Clark’s ‘What if They Find Us?’
What if They Find us? is a wonderful book about two Jewish girls from Budapest who survive the Second World War in a convent in the centre of the city. It is a book about love and hope in an appalling situation and so is a book I can heartily recommend to 9-12 year olds.
Roy Peachey's Books 