Glamorous Powers

By Susan Howatch

The time is 1940. Jonathan Darrow is an Anglican priest when he receives a shattering vision and knows he must leave the monastery that has been his home for seventeen years. As he plunges into the temptations of the real world, a crisis sends him into the labyrinth of his past to pluck out the buried truth beneath the deceptions he has been living through.

Praise for Glamorous Powers

“Fascinating . . . convincing . . . believable.”—Newsday

“Mesmerizing . . . holds the reader riveted.”—The Washington Post

“Intriguing and wholly involving . . . Darrow is a willful, proud, manipulative man, struggling to subdue his tempestuous character. . . . The resulting crisis—in which Darrow finally faces the necessary process of uncovering deeply buried pain—underlines Ms. Howatch's concern with the continual play of light and dark in the human spirit.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Gripping . . . You'll be quite transported. You'll also discover one of the most original novelists writing today.”—Cosmopolitan

“Howatch is skillful at plot development and deftly handles [her] subject. . . . Her grasp of psychic experiences and the inner struggle between the urge to do spiritual good and the temptation to exert control make for an engrossing read.”—New York Daily News

“Wise, witty . . . Holds the reader spellbound.”—Publishers Weekly

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Dec 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9780307775122

Susan Howatch

Susan Howatch was born in Surrey in 1940. After taking a degree in law she emigrated to America where she married, had a daughter and embarked on her career as a writer. When she eventually left the states, she lived in the Republic of Ireland for four years before returning to England. She spent time in Salisbury – the inspiration for her Starbridge sequence of novels – and now lives in London.

Reviews for Glamorous Powers

[northern_light-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If I could I would have given this book 2.5 stars. The second book in the Strabridge sereies it takes one of the characters from the first story and tells us his story.

Jon Darrow is an Anglican monk who comes to the realisation that it's time to leave the monastery and go into the world. It then tells of his trials and tribulations and his problems with reconciling his faith with what he finds there.

Although I enjoyed this book I think in many ways it would be enjoyed better by a non-Christian as a pure story rather than myself as a Christian who found some of it very hard to accept as portraying Christianity in any real way.

My main problem is Jon Darrow's use of his glamorous powers which seem to consist of such things as hypnotism and his belief that he alone can heal people. This is totally contrary to the bible and in fact hypnotism is specifically forbidden. It seems strange that someone so senior in the church would be led astray in this way.

I was also very uncomfortable with the whole Catholic input. I was aware of High Anglicans but not to the extent featured in the book and it seems very wrong for him to impose such alien practices into the small village church.

All in all a good book and I look forward to reading the next in the series.

[sueincyprus · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Second in the Starbridge series about the Church of England.

Another brilliant psychological novel featuring Jon Darrow as he leaves the monastic life and tries to follow God's will in the world. His insecurities and hangups gradually come to light, as he begin to allow healing.

Utterly enthralling, with totally believable people, situations and conversation. Wonderful.

[revslick_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A mystical blend of psychology and theology wraps this novel of Darrow's transition from Monk back to Pastor and beyond. This is the second in Howatch's Church of England series. The first is a wonderful mystery and introduction into the power of spiritual direction. The second in the series is a journey into the intersection of spirituality and psychology. The book follows five transition points - leaving the cloister; reuniting with his children; marriage; pastoral ministry and beyond. I gave it a three because Susan explores very well the first and next to last but highly neglects and even rushes too quickly the middle two. There are moments the dialogue seems fairly heavy against Darrow, but hang on because some intense therapy is going on.

[arctic1stranger · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was the first one I read in the series (yes, out of order, of course.) The story gave me new tools to approach God. Howatch makes mysticism practical, and approachable.