The Book of Margery Kempe

Written by Margery Kempe

Narrated by Lucy Scott

The Book of Margery Kempe is the extraordinary account of a medieval wife, mother and mystic from Norfolk. Having married in c. 1393, given birth to 14 children, and pursued unsuccessful ventures in brewing and milling, Kempe made a vow of chastity and embarked on a life of prayer, penance and pilgrimage. Known as the earliest autobiography in the English language, it contains intimate portraits of people and places, and a remarkable eye for detail, as it traces the transformation of a ‘sinful wretch’ to a holy pilgrim.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: Aug 30, 2017
• ISBN: 9781781983454

Reviews for The Book of Margery Kempe

[Joseph Walker Sims · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is an amazingly fresh look at the late Medieval world from a woman’s point of view.

[Veronica Salazar · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book may seem repetitive to some. If I could summarize it in few lines would be “a Middle Ages woman received the gift of tears from God and, whenever she heard about, or thought about Our Lord’s passion, she shed them plentifully and with great devotion. She was despised by lay people and clerics alike for her loud crying and wailing.”

It makes you feel truly pity for the scorn that this woman suffered due to this most peculiar gift from God. You will also read about her pilgrimages and for me it is nothing short of miraculous how she traveled, sometimes alone and sometimes in the company of spiteful people and God always provided for her! Now, let’s consider that we are talking about the mid 1400’s!

For me, who read this book just out of curiosity looking for some spiritual reading for Lent, her story questions me and how I live my faith. It makes me look inside of me and ask myself “Do I truly believe that God —being all Powerful, all Loving and Merciful— can and will provide for all my needs? Do I believe at the deepest levels in my heart that His passion and death applies to me in a personal, intimate way? Moreover, do I believe that I (and all believers, for that matter) are called to the highest levels of holiness, regardless of their walk in life? Am I ready to give everything to Him who gave everything for me, even His own Self, on the Cross?”