Kevin Goodrich: A Pilgrimage of the heart: Walter Hilton and the English Mystical Tradition.
Darton, Longman an Todd. ISBN978-1-915412-13-3 published 2024 Available in Kindle and Hardcover
Review by Janet Robinson
This is an engaging and attractively produced book. It tells of the life and story of Walter Hilton of Thurgarton entwined with other mystics of the fourteenth century: Richard Rolle, the author of the Cloud of Unknowing, Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. The author has provided a useful background of the turbulent history of the times. He suggests that the book can be used as a virtual pilgrimage, making one’s way towards a deeper understanding of the spiritual road. Besides the narrative the author includes kindly but searching, practical questions and exercises for the reader. He laces the text with interesting narrative of his visits to the places where the mystics lived and adds helpful illustrations.
This makes altogether a very useful adjunct to one’s time of stillness. I have read the book through in order to review it but I believe that when I read it again, trying to answer some of the questions and exercises, it will deepen my contemplative prayer and expand my knowledge of the men and women whose stories he tells. I found it helpful where there is a discussion of the contemplative, the active and the “mixed” life of the spirit – something that Walter Hilton clarifies. Indeed I have just been to our local secondhand bookshop and found a copy of The Ladder of Perfection by Hilton!
Two small quibbles: I cannot feel entirely sure that Margery Kempe was a true contemplative. Certainly a pilgrim, a character larger than life, extremely active and noisy. The author himself calls her the “weeping mystic.” However, the story of her life and spiritual endeavour is appealing. My other quibble is a slight lack of proof reading. For example: St Catherine’s monastery, where John Climacus may have written The Ladder of Divine Ascent is in Sinai not Greece. But I digress. Do consider A Pilgrimage of the Heart as a valuable aide for your contemplative life.
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