Women Saints: Lives of Faith and Courage

In Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt recalls a day spent reading Butler's Lives of the Saints. For a lad of 13, the stories of martyrdom and torture were sufficiently gory to provide fascinating reading. Jones intends no such engagement here. Rather, she pieces together straightforward accounts of the conditions and influences that contributed to the achievements of 51 women (40 in the main text and 11 others in appendixes). Each of eight sectionsAVisionaries, Martyrs, Collaborators, Wives and Mothers, Penitents, Outcasts, Innovators, and MissionariesAincludes an introductory essay and short biographical entries. Because of the summary nature of the entries, Jones's tone is occasionally flat, and she makes some sweeping generalizations. In addition, American readers may find some of the language awkward.