Elisabeth Hense and Joseph Chalmers, editors
2023 | 401 p. | ISBN: 978-88-7288-233-7

The Dutch Carmelite martyr, St. Titus Brandsma, professor of philosophy and prolific writer, corresponded frequently with his publishers, Paul Brand and Het Spectrum. Most of these letters concerned his edition of the Works of Teresa of Avila, her biography, and another book on the Carmelite Saints. These letters provide the reader with an interesting insight into the way Titus Brandsma worked on his publications. In addition, the reader gains knowledge about the historical, cultural, and social circumstances, in which the works were published. Furthermore, the reader becomes acquainted with technical details of the printing process in those days, and Titus Brandsma’s taste and preferences in the art depicting St Teresa. 

In this volume, we present all letters to Paul Brand and Het Spectrum written between 1917 and 1942 in chronological order and placed in their contexts. The correspondence to Paul Brand started when Titus made his first plans for an edition of the works of St Teresa and ended in 1940 when he was thinking about a biography of Geert Grote. The correspondence with Het Spectrum started in 1941 when Titus Brandsma accepted the invitation of the publishing house to write a biography of St Teresa and ended in 1942 – only some days before he was imprisoned – when he accepted to collaborate on a vast new project for a Library of Catholic Classics.