The Story of a Soul

The Story of a Soul, better known to the English public as The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, was first published in 1899. Today it ranks amongst the greatest Christian spiritual classics and it has been translated into practically every well-known language. Almost every pope since its publication has proposed St. Thérèse's teaching to the faithful for their imitation—Pius XI declared her the greatest saint of our age and John Paul II made her a Doctor of the Church.

The Story of a Soul possesses in some degree a characteristic common both to the Gospels and The Imitation of Christ. Men and women open the book, often quite casually, and are caught by the vivid clarity or simple profundity of some sentence in such a way that their lives are completely changed. The style of St. Thérèse is extremely simple and spontaneous, having a charm that is hard to describe, especially when she rises to poetic heights. The final chapter, written for her eldest sister Marie, is simply a childlike outpouring of her heart to Jesus Himself. This spiritual classic will speak gently to your heart.

This edition has been re-typeset using the text of the 1952 edition originally published by Burns Oates Washbourne under the imprimatur of Edm. Canon Surmont, Vicar General, Westminster, 2nd November 1925.