The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest is the report of a Jesuit priest active in England during the sixteenth century, mostly during the time of the Elizabethian persecution, and ending about the time of the Gunpowder Plot to destroy Parliament. Despite the heavy looking sepia-toned cover with a picture of a priest being tortured, it was light easy reading that was not graphic or overly technical. Fr. John Gerard (the original author) and Fr. James Schall (the translator) are pleasant and easy to read.
In part, I wanted to read this book because this time period is one that English-speakers learn about from a Protestant perspective. English culture and English history is largely Protestant, with Catholics (until modern times) remaining a despised and (in England at least) legally circumscribed minority. In school students learn about “Bloody Mary” (who persecuted Protestants) and “Good Queen Bess” (who persecuted Catholics.) On November 5th, people traditionally burned the Pope in effigy to celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot. Active Protestants often receive an additional layer of religious instruction about this time, but it is (naturally enough) limited to martyrs who died for their Protestant faith, and does not include Catholics who died for their Catholic faith. (This is an observation, not a criticism.) Modern secularism is no kinder to Catholics, so we don’t often hear the Catholic side of things.
Iesus et Ecclesia 