John Inglesant, a Romance

Joseph Henry Shorthouse (1834 - 1903)

"John Inglesant" is the best known of Mr. Shorthouse’s novels: it is also the most perfect embodiment of this spirit of mysticism in fiction. The hero, whose name gives the title to the book, is a cavalier in the court of King Charles the First. There is an exquisite aroma about his character: he is a gentleman and a saint, a courtier with the soul of an anchorite. He adheres with scrupulous fidelity to the requirements of his order, yet he is haunted with visions of the Divine life: he is a mystic and a man of the world.

The book is a romance of the time of Charles I., and the years immediately following his death, and is cast in the form of the memoirs of John Inglesant, the working-out of whose character forms the most interesting part of a hook, every line of which has its interest. In John Inglesant - educated and trained from his early years at the hands of the Jesuits, and moulded and tuned from the first for the purposes they had in view — the author cleverly paints the conflict of a naturally frank and truthful character, with the more artificial virtues of unquestioning obedience and blind adherence to a cause, however bad, once taken in hand, that the skilful training by these most successful of teachers had superinduced. The book may be said to be divided into two parts, each of which covers a volume [chapters 1-20, 21-39]. In the first, the scene is laid in England, during the last days of the struggle between Charles I. and his Parliament. The second deals with later events in Italy, that took place about the time of the election of Pope Alexander VII; while, interwoven with the later story, is an account of the Molinists and Quietists in Italy, whose short-lived fervour was crushed by the Jesuits, through the arrest of their leader, Michael de Molinos. Throughout the whole, however, runs the thread of John Inglesant’s personal history, which is very cleverly conceived and skilfully blended in.

[The book] expresses ideals that to the majority of us have become mere phrases. Briefly these ideals are, setting aside the question of religion, personal fidelity to a personal sovereign and single-hearted reverence for one woman.

This novel was loved by J.R.R. Tolkien. - Summary by Various PD sources

Genre(s): Christian Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Introductory Chapter Elijah Fisher
00:19:43
Play 02 Chapter I Cbteddy
00:24:04
Play 03 Chapter II Part 1 Cbteddy
00:17:04
Play 04 Chapter II Part 2 Cbteddy
00:16:29
Play 05 Chapter III Part 1 Cbteddy
00:11:07
Play 06 Chapter III Part 2 Cbteddy
00:18:59
Play 07 Chapter IV Part 1 czandra
00:18:09
Play 08 Chapter IV Part 2 czandra
00:21:49
Play 09 Chapter V Cbteddy
00:17:42
Play 10 Chapter VI Cbteddy
00:22:48
Play 11 Chapter VII Cbteddy
00:16:12
Play 12 Chapter VIII Cbteddy
00:17:13
Play 13 Chapter IX Part 1 ProtoMan
00:19:47
Play 14 Chapter IX Part 2 ProtoMan
00:21:09
Play 15 Chapter X ProtoMan
00:26:08
Play 16 Chapter XI ProtoMan
00:22:27
Play 17 Chapter XII Part 1 Jim Locke
00:12:05
Play 18 Chapter XII Part 2 Elijah Fisher
00:22:40
Play 19 Chapter XIII Part 1 InTheDesert
00:10:26
Play 20 Chapter XIII Part 2 Elijah Fisher
00:20:32
Play 21 Chapter XIV Part 1 Jim Locke
00:12:44
Play 22 Chapter XIV Part 2 Jim Locke
00:16:14
Play 23 Chapter XV Part 1 Elijah Fisher
00:19:33
Play 24 Chapter XV Part 2 Elijah Fisher
00:12:44
Play 25 Chapter XVI Elijah Fisher
00:14:46
Play 26 Chapter XVII Jim Locke
00:19:53
Play 27 Chapter XVIII Jim Locke
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Play 28 Chapter XIX Jim Locke
00:19:00
Play 29 Chapter XX Elijah Fisher
00:12:27
Play 30 Chapter XXI Part 1 Elijah Fisher
00:21:02
Play 31 Chapter XXI Part 2 Elijah Fisher
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Play 32 Chapter XXI Part 3 Jim Locke
00:26:06
Play 33 Chapter XXI Part 4 Jim Locke
00:19:45
Play 34 Chapter XXII Part 1 Jim Locke
00:24:17
Play 35 Chapter XXII Part 2 Jim Locke
00:13:06
Play 36 Chapter XXIII Cbteddy
00:17:00
Play 37 Chapter XXIV Cbteddy
00:18:36
Play 38 Chapter XXV Part 1 Cbteddy
00:21:02
Play 39 Chapter XXV Part 2 Jim Locke
00:18:42
Play 40 Chapter XXV Part 3 Jim Locke
00:25:13
Play 41 Chapter XXVI Part 1 Jim Locke
00:21:31
Play 42 Chapter XXVI Part 2 Jim Locke
00:19:11
Play 43 Chapter XXVII Part 1 Jim Locke
00:18:18
Play 44 Chapter XXVII Part 2 Belinda Mc
00:24:28
Play 45 Chapter XXVIII Jim Locke
00:17:26
Play 46 Chapter XXIX Jim Locke
00:25:42
Play 47 Chapter XXX Belinda Mc
00:24:58
Play 48 Chapter XXXI Part 1 Jim Locke
00:14:26
Play 49 Chapter XXXI Part 2 Jim Locke
00:15:38
Play 50 Chapter XXXII Jim Locke
00:24:47
Play 51 Chapter XXXIII Elijah Fisher
00:25:54
Play 52 Chapter XXXIV Part 1 Elijah Fisher
00:17:19
Play 53 Chapter XXXIV Part 2 Elijah Fisher
00:16:40
Play 54 Chapter XXXV Part 1 Elijah Fisher
00:09:52
Play 55 Chapter XXXV Part 2 Jim Locke
00:24:14
Play 56 Chapter XXXVI Belinda Mc
00:19:33
Play 57 Chapter XXXVII Part 1 Elijah Fisher
00:15:40
Play 58 Chapter XXXVII Part 2 Elijah Fisher
00:27:21
Play 59 Chapter XXXVIII Part 1 Elijah Fisher
00:13:08
Play 60 Chapter XXXVIII Part 2 Elijah Fisher
00:17:31
Play 61 Chapter XXXIX Part 1 Elijah Fisher
00:12:53
Play 62 Chapter XXXIX Part 2 Elijah Fisher
00:25:46