Contact: Christine Valentine-Owsik, Valentine Communications, For: Ignatius Press, 215-230-8095, valencom@aol.com

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 20 /Standard Newswire/ -- The late Monsignor Ronald Knox (1888-1957) - the famous early-20th-century British Catholic priest who was a convert from Anglicanism and prolific writer - is profiled in a new in-depth overview of his life and literary works. 

A major figure in the English Catholic literary revival of the last century, Msgr. Knox has become known as a legendary force and defender of Catholicism.  Today's "Knox revival", as evidenced by renewed interest in his writings, has a timely and valuable addition in this new biographical tapestry of him and his work.

In The Wine of Certitude:  A Literary Biography of Ronald Knox (Ignatius, 427 p.), David Rooney, an engineering professor and expert on the life and works of Knox, examines the full range of Knox's writings - which includes over 75 books, as well as articles and homilies encompassing apologetics, detective fiction, satire, novels and other genres.  By including many samples of Knox's prose in The Wine of Certitude, Rooney presents an intellectual portrait of the priest that is both fascinating and engaging - a 'mosaic' approach that allows the works and the person of Knox to emerge from the pages in a vivid and animated way.

"Knox stands out as a consummate writer who can carry a reader through a philosophical or theological argument, a recounting of a saint's life, a serious analysis of a literary figure's contributions, a hilarious exposé of a bad poet's effusions, and even navigation of a complex mystery novel," says Rooney, "all without sounding stuffy or condescending."

Among Knox's many books are The Hidden Stream, The Belief of Catholics, Captive Flames, Pastoral and Occasional Sermons, and more.  Because Knox treats the reader as a friend, says Rooney, his works don't age.  The answers he gives are as telling today as they were when he wrote them over 50 years ago. 

Rooney, a native of Ireland, lifelong Catholic, and associate professor of engineering of Hofstra University, is, however, a latecomer to Knox's writings - and The Wine of Certitude is his first book.

"I had been doing book reviews mainly in American and British Church history for some years, and then a copy of one of Knox's books, A Retreat for Lay People, came across my desk," says Rooney.  "The particular appeal of Knox for me as a professor of engineering is the fact that he was a logician before he became an apologist. He speaks to those who value logical ways of proceeding in arguments," says Rooney.  "I was struck by the way Knox builds his."

"So, someone who is interested in knowing more about Catholicism could pick up one of Knox's books, and feel very much at home in it," says Rooney.  Knox even did a Bible translation, which is ideal for anyone who actually wants to read and understand the text, according to Rooney.  "He wanted Catholics to actually enjoy reading the Bible," says Rooney, "and 60 years later, his translation is still in timeless English and reads like a modern translation."

Knox's famed translation of the spiritual classic, The Imitation of Christ (by Thomas à Kempis - and published by Ignatius Press), is considered by many teachers, writers and readers to be the most accurate and beautiful English translation ever.  After the Bible, The Imitation of Christ is the second most widely read book of all time, and it has had an astonishing impact on the spiritual lives of countless saints, peasants and popes for centuries.

In The Wine of Certitude, Rooney shows how Knox 'met people where they are' and how he saw Christ in everyone.  As Knox himself says in Layman and His Conscience, and which Rooney quotes in his book, "Is there someone whose conversation bores you, whose importunity wearies you, whose outward manners offend you?  ... Here too you will see Jesus only - the Crucified appealing to you out of those human souls, that need your care, your forbearance, your compassion... a Friend, human and divine, constantly at your side, sharing your burdens, understanding your difficulties, sympathizing with your work."

San Francisco-based Ignatius Press, founded in 1978, is one of the largest Catholic publishers in the world. Ignatius Press is the primary English-language publisher of Pope Benedict XVI. Dedicated to publishing and distributing information on the Catholic faith, Ignatius Press publishes over 40 books each year (with over 1,800 titles in print). Its author-roster includes some of the foremost names in the Catholic Church. Ignatius Press is also the publisher of Catholic World Report and Homiletic & Pastoral Review magazines. www.ignatius.com