Margery Kempe

Anthony Bale’s biographical study of Margery Kempe is among the first volumes in Reaktion’s new Medieval Lives series. Rich in detail about Kempe’s life and times, Bale’s book includes maps and photographs that enable the reader to follow her progress around the medieval world and even through the streets of modern-day King’s Lynn, where a number of later medieval sites can still be seen today … Capturing Kempe’s complexity in engaging terms, this book is sure to become a staple for all those interested in the literature and culture of medieval England. * TLS *Bale’s lucid and informative scholarship goes a long way towards filling out the picture of Margery Kempe’s world that a nonspecialist reader can probably only glimpse between the lines. Medievalists will know this material, but for the rest of us, his mise-en-scène is hugely helpful. Reaktion Books are always beautifully produced and the text is easy to read and appropriately illustrated. As a companion to reading the Book itself, Bale’s study can be recommended without qualification. * Reviews in Religion and Theology *Bale has crafted a thematic biography of the late medieval mystic through careful analysis of The Book of Margery Kempe (c. 1440) in conjunction with texts and artifacts that both contextualize her life and suggest plausible details to fill the many gaps. In particular, Bale interrogates Kempe’s quest for mystical union with the Godhead in light of the careers of Bridget of Sweden, Catherine of Siena, Julian of Norwich, and Richard Rolle… . The result is a fresh interpretation of Kempe, her book, and her world. The book will intrigue scholars; nonspecialists will find it accessible and interesting. Highly recommended. * Choice *Anthony Bale’s Modern English translation of The Book of Margery Kempe enjoyed a deservedly warm reception when it was published and his new book on Margery Kempe retains his comprehensive approach and sensitive presentation. There is an empathy here with Bale’s subject matter coupled with an authority and a penetrating investigation … Anthony Bale selects and contextualizes moments from Margery’s life and introduces some key themes from the Book, giving a fascinating insight into the life of a medieval woman, the religious controversies of her time, and her religious visions and later years. * Magistra Journal *Anthony Bale charts Kempe’s life and tells her story through the places, relationships, objects, and experiences that influenced her. Extensive quotations from Kempe’s Book accompany generous illustrations, giving a fascinating insight into the life of a medieval woman. * Pennsylvania Literary Journal *Margery Kempe of Lynn Norfolk took pains in the decades of her prime to have her life as mother, wife and pilgrim recorded for posterity. With erudition and sympathy, Anthony Bale frames Margery – a doubting, aching, troubled and fiercely independent woman – within the European cities that staged her life, and so makes her more familiar than any fifteenth-century woman has ever been. * Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary University of London and author of ‘Cities of Strangers: Making Lives in Medieval Europe’ (2020) *Margery Kempe: A Mixed Life is an evocative, vivid, and learned study of a complicated and intriguing text, The Book of Margery Kempe. Anthony Bale’s captivating study blends rigorously researched biography with incisive analysis of the text. The book combines academic prowess with an almost poetic representation of people, events and places, and brings to the fore the trials and triumphs of Kempe’s negotiation of her mixed life. * Laura Kalas, Senior Lecturer in Medieval Literature at Swansea University and author of ‘Margery Kempe’s Spiritual Medicine: Suffering, Transformation and the Life-course’ (2020) *

Anthony Bale is Professor of Medieval Studies at Birkbeck, University of London. He has published many articles and books on medieval literature and culture including a translation of The Book of Margery Kempe (2016). He lives in London.