By Alice Curtayne

A Recall to Dante

In 1932, the original year of publication for A Recall to Dante, the Florentine poet and his monumental Divine Comedy were, in stark contrast to the present day, a largely neglected legacy to English-reading Catholics. With A Recall to Dante, Alice Curtayne illustrates the pressing need to recall Dante from his “exile of disregard.” Crucial to this work is the recognition that Dante wrote, not for scholars or other poets, but for the ordinary men and women of his homeland. As a result, his poetry is accessible and enjoyable for popular audiences. The humble mission of the book sacrifices exhaustive literary analysis, yet Curtayne’s pithy illustrative interpretations of the Comedy still offer much food for thought, as do her reflections on Dante’s invocations of the Holy Name, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the act of prayer.

Its relative brevity notwithstanding, A Recall to Dante accomplishes a hugely ambitious task: to restore to a civilization one of its most valuable memories.

Alice Curtayne (1898–1981) was an Irish author, critic, journalist, and lecturer. In 1935, she married fellow author Stephen Rynne, with whom she raised four children and tended their family farm. Curtayne’s rich bibliography comprises histories and hagiographies, fiction and biographies, all of which demonstrate her keen intellect and vivid imagination.

Paperback: 206pp.

ISBN: 978-1952826252