Books published by Benediction Classics

Grey Owl's children's story, first published in 1935. This delightful novel comes complete with Grey Owl's original drawings, chapter head-pieces and a glossary of Ojibway Indian words.

Dorothy Sayers' much loved "Catholic Tales and Christian Songs" together with two theological works written for the interested lay person.

D. H. Lawrence writes "Giovanni Verga, the Sicilian novelist and playwright, is surely the greatest writer of Italian fiction, after Manzoni". Originally published under the title "Novelle Rusticane ", this delightful collection of stories from the Sicily of the 1800's is translated and introduced by Lawrence.

Dr. Thorndyke is one of the best creations of the Golden Age of British detective fiction. He is both medical doctor and barrister and the first great exponent of forensics in fiction, with an encyclopedic scientific knowledge. R. Austin Freeman was innovative in his writing too - some of his stories are divided in two: the first part describes the crime AND who did it - the second, the means of detection. In this new omnibus edition, over forty Thorndyke short stories are gathered, from The Singing Bone (a.k.a. The Adventures of Dr. Thorndyke), The Great Portrait Mystery, John Thorndyke's Cases (a.k.a. Dr. Thorndyke's Cases), The Magic Casket , The Puzzle Lock and Dr. Thorndyke's Case Book (a.k.a. The Blue Scarab).

The Soil and Health, a classic of organic farming, is an essential introduction to organic gardening and farming."The health of soil, plant, animal and man is one and indivisible." - Albert Howard.At the turn of the twentieth century, chemical fertilizers seemed to offer limitless potential in agriculture. However, when British agriculturalist Albert Howard travelled to India as Imperial Economic Botanist to the Government of India, he observed Vedic agriculture as practiced by India peasant farmers, and noted the health benefits to plants, animals and humans from what we now call organic agriculture. Albert Howard, Rudolph Steiner and Lady Eve Balfour are considered the first proponents of organic agriculture.In his own words: "The soil is, as a matter of fact, full of live organisms. It is essential to conceive of it as something pulsating with life, not as a dead or inert mass. There could be no greater misconception than to regard the earth as dead: a handful of soil is teeming with life. The living fungi, bacteria, and protozoa, invisibly present in the soil complex, are known as the soil population. This population of millions and millions of minute existences, quite invisible to our eyes of course, pursue their own lives.""The first duty of the agriculturalist must always be to understand that he is a part of Nature and cannot escape from his environment. He must therefore obey Nature's rules," Howard wrote. He believed that the farmer must work with nature instead of with chemical fertilizers and pesticides for long-term sustained yields. Howard's belief in the importance of manures, compost and mycorrhizal fungi is now generally accepted, and is echoed in the organic gardening motto, "Feed the soil not the plant."Sir Albert Howard presents a summary of his life's work in this book. Howard states "This law is true for soil, plant, animal, and man: the health of these four is one connected chain."Anyone interested in organic gardening and farming will find this a fascinating book.Sir Albert Howard (1873 - 1947) was an English botanist. He studied at Cambridge University as a Foundation Scholar and lectured in the West Indies and the United Kingdom. From 1905 to 1924 he was Imperial Economic Botanist in India. He promoted organic methods through the Rodale Institute in the USA and the Soil Association in the UK and is one of the pioneers in the field.

Detailed descriptions of historic artwork, in the form of English bookcovers dating from the 13th to 18th Centuries. This is a modern reprint, with all 51 original illustations. It is not a facsimile.

In this classic, Augustine of Hippo describes how to interpret and teach the Scriptures. Although written 1600 years ago, it considers the role literal and allegorical interpreation of scripture, and is particularly relevant today. A valuable, and readable resource for preachers and teachers.

An unremarkable civil servant becomes the target of a nefarious plot when he inherits an early set of tarot cards and will not surrender them to the gypsy master and his grandson who hope to unlock their mystic power.

Set in the mid 1850s, the story of Rachel Henning's voyage to Australia is told through the letters she writes to family and friends.

A modern edition containing "The Spectre Bride", "Auriol or The Elixir of Life", and "A Night in Rome".

Anatole France, the Nobel-prize winning French author, turns to a historical subject for this two-volume Life of Joan of Arc. Thoroughly researched with a wealth of references, he sought to bring a rationalist viewpoint to the legendary French heroine and to examine and, where necessary, overturn the superstitious additions to her history. He also hoped to counteract the Church's interpretation of her life, as that institution was, in 1908, well on the way to declaring her a saint. Volume I covers Joan's early life and visions, and her military career up to the coronation of King Charles at Reims.

Classic Charles Williams: A humanistic adept has discovered that by focusing his energies inward he can extend his life almost indefinitely. He undertakes an experiment, using African lore, to die and resurrect his own body, thereby assuring his immortality. His followers begin a revolutionary movement to destroy European civilization.

The complete sixth edition of Darwin's classic, with all additions and corrections.

According to persistent rumours, the Australian government suppressed the book because its untold story of a slice of colonial history was an embarrassment to the British Empire. Opens a window on the Boer War, politics of the empire, and the life of enlisted soldiers of the time. George Witton's Scapegoats of the Empire was published in 1907; however, only seven copies of the book survived. According to persistent rumours, the Australian government suppressed the book because its untold story of a slice of colonial history was an embarrassment to the British Empire. George Witton wrote the book to show that he, "Breaker" Morant and Handcock, who fought in the second Boer war as members of the Bushveldt Carbineers regiment of the British army were scapegoated by the British authorities in South Africa. They were court-martialled for the war crime of summarily executing twelve Boer prisoners of war, which they admitted. However, they claimed that they were obeying the unwritten, but widely-known "take no prisoners" policy of Lord Kitchener.Both Morant and Handcock were executed by firing squad in February 1902, allegedly to appease the Boer government in order to facilitate the peace Treaty of Vereeniging signed in May 1902, which ended the Second Boer War.George Witton served twenty-eight months in prison, after which he returned to Australia, and wrote this gripping account.George Ramsdale Witton (28 June 1874 - 14 August 1942) was a lieutenant in the Bushveldt Carbineers in the Boer War in South Africa.Harry "Breaker" Morant (9 December 1864 - 27 February 1902), a larger-than-life character, is a major figure in the book. He was born to parents who ran a British workhouse but passed himself off as well-educated and a member of the British upper class, creating romantic legends about his past. He went to Australia "for the colonial experience" and was variously a drover, a horseman, a bush poet and balladeer, a petty criminal and a military officer. Morant and Handcock have become folk heroes in modern Australia. Their court-martial and death have been the subject of books, a stage play, and an award-winning Australian New Wave movie by director Bruce Beresford, depicting them as Australian icons and martyrs.