David Hugh Farmer

The introduction discusses the texts in a different order from their order in the book. It is also (perhaps inevitably given the overlapping nature of the texts' subject matter) somewhat repetitive. I think it would have been better to put the different sections of the introduction separately with the texts they discuss.

Parts of the Voyage of St. Brendan strongly reminded me of the final chapters of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

The notes in the lives seem to be mainly limited to notes of biblical references. However, some biblical references are annotated and some are not, and it's difficult to see what the criteria are.… (more)

Praised as "splendid" (The Economist) and "the kind of book that gives hagiography a good name" (The Times), this entertaining and authoritative dictionary breathes life into its subjects and is as browsable as it is informative. First published in 1978, the Oxford Dictionary of Saints offersmore than 1,700 fascinating and informative entries covering the lives, cults, and artistic associations of saints from around the world. Ranging from the famous to the obscure, the rich to the poor, and the academic to the uneducated, the saints profiled here come from all walks of life, from all
periods of history, and from around the world, reflecting a wide variety of personalities and achievements.… (more)