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  • Saint Patrick Retold

  • The Legend and History of Ireland's Patron Saint
  • By: Roy Flechner
  • Narrated by: Gerry O'Brien
  • Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (3 ratings)

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Saint Patrick Retold

By: Roy Flechner
Narrated by: Gerry O'Brien
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Summary

A gripping biography that brings together the most recent research to shed provocative new light on the life of Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick was, by his own admission, a controversial figure. Convicted in a trial by his elders in Britain and hounded by rumors that he settled in Ireland for financial gain, the man who was to become Ireland’s patron saint battled against great odds before succeeding as a missionary. Saint Patrick Retold draws on recent research to offer a fresh assessment of Patrick’s travails and achievements. This is the first biography in nearly 50 years to explore Patrick’s career against the background of historical events in late antique Britain and Ireland.

Roy Flechner examines the likelihood that Patrick, like his father before him, might have absconded from a career as an imperial official responsible for taxation, preferring instead to migrate to Ireland with his family’s slaves, who were his source of wealth. Flechner leaves no stone unturned as he takes listeners on a riveting journey through Romanized Britain and late Iron Age Ireland, and he considers how best to interpret the ambiguous literary and archaeological evidence from this period of great political and economic instability, a period that brought ruin for some and opportunity for others. Rather than a dismantling of Patrick’s reputation, or an argument against his sainthood, Flechner’s biography raises crucial questions about self-image and the making of a reputation.

From boyhood deeds to the challenges of a missionary enterprise, Saint Patrick Retold steps beyond established narratives to reassess a notable figure’s life and legacy.

©2019 Roy Flechner (P)2019 Princeton University Press
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Great audio book but overly academic at times.

This is a great audio book but when I bought this, I thought I was getting a story of St Patrick from start to finish with all the magical tales etc. But a lot of this audio book is geared towards historians and academics delving into the technicalities of hagiography and law and language etc.

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