Augustine the African

In this rich and elegant biography, classicist Conybeare (The Irrational Augustine) re-centers the African cultural heritage of St. Augustine … an essential reconsideration of a seminal figure in the Western canon.–Publishers Weekly, starred reviewPainting Augustine as pugnacious, persistent, and passionate, Conybeare reexamines Augustine’s prolific writings–which still influence Christian thought–in light of his African perspective. Conybeare’s expertise and respect for Augustine shine brightly in her latest profile on the saint (after Routledge Guidebook to Augustine’s Confessions, 2016). Readers of church history and admirers of Augustine will appreciate her meticulous and fond treatment.–Karen Clements “Booklist”

Catherine Conybeare, a renowned classicist, is the first woman to write a biography of Augustine since journalist Rebecca West nearly a century ago. Reinterpreting the writings of Augustine and his contemporaries has formed the heart of her scholarly work. She has received awards and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, among others. She is Leslie Clark Professor in the Humanities at Bryn Mawr College and lives in Pennsylvania.