The Priest and the Playwright! Parallel Lives in Edwardian London, M. F. Brown, (Pen Press, Brighton, 2009) v, 181pp., paperback, £7.99, ISBN 978 1 906710 63 7

This is a record of two very different characters - the American socialite and author, Pearl Craigie, and this author's great-uncle, a Scottish priest, William Brown who became a bishop.  They had a close friendship expressed in letters between 1878 and 1906 which were formal until shortly before the end.  The friendship came about when William chanced to have lunch with Pearl's wealthy family, on the Isle of Wight with her family recently arrived from the United States, while William worked as a Catholic priest in poor conditions including a doss house in London.  The correspondence continued often twice a day, when her other friend, Lord Curzon, became Viceroy in 1898.  Pearl, who published mostly in America, moved in aristocratic circles and died in 1906, while William succeeded in his determination in building a church in a slum of London and was helped financially by Pearl and others.

He died in 1951 full of years and honours.  In one of his letters he tells how he offered to have the birch himself to prove how trifling a punishment it was (!)

The book, which is pleasantly illustrated by a number of photographs, lacks an index and would have benefited from a clear chronological table.  Part of the proceeds of the sale of the book will be sent to CAFOD.

It is an interesting testimony to a friendship between utterly different characters and is based on the author's personal family archive, but there is a short list of sources setting the context of the story.