One of the great pleasures of reading is to come across a book which, quite unexpectedly, puts into words things that the reader believes, but which he has never thought out for himself.
A recent example of this, in my case, is the reading of Gaius Davies's 'Genius, Grief and Grace' (2nd edition, Christian Focus Publications, 2001). This book has already been favourably reviewed in EN (April 2002) by Peter Comont. But its interest and importance merit further reflection.
Genius, Grief and Grace was, in its first edition, a set of nine, chapter-length studies of Christian leaders - Luther, Bunyan, Cowper, Lord Shaftesbury, Christina Rossetti, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Amy Carmichael, C.S. Lewis, J.B. Phillips. Dr. Davies has added, in this new edition, chapters on Frances Ridley Havergal and Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The author brings a life-time of experience in psychiatry to focus on the various personality types exemplified in this list, and he draws attention to the influence of early upbringing on the development of particular traits of character.
