"A compelling gothic tale in which evil triumphs over virtue."
"Fallen Order is meticulously researched and beautifully written" |
Publishers Weekly Liebreich, a Cambridge-trained historian, recounts the riveting early decades of the Piarist Order. Although this book may be controversial and is certainly timely -- a concluding chapter explicitly connects the 17th century scandals with the recent pedophilia crisis in the Church -- it is not sensationalistic. Liebreich's lucid, even-handed prose is marred only by her grating habit of ending chapters with self-conscious cliffhangers ("They swallowed their feelings and kept silent. For the time being.") Scholars and armchair history buffs alike will find this fast-paced history engrossing and informative. |
