Henri Bremond (1865-1933) and England (Exploring non-conformist and diverse forms of religious experience within the Anglican literary sphere)

Henri Bremond (1865-1933), before emerging as the author of the now classic Histoire litteraire du sentiment religieux en France, was from his earlies t years an amateur of English literature with which he became acquainted du ring his stays in Great Britain for Jesuit training. He showed a predilecti on for a rather non-conformist (for the time) novelist-George Eliot-as well as for writers attuned to diverse forms of religious experience, generally in the Anglican sphere. His reading gave rise to numerous articles whose l ively style is full of penetrating compassion for souls going through spiri tual crisis, suffering anguish or on the threshold of conversion. He was fa scinated by Newman, of whom he paints a "Bremondised" portrait, but which n onetheless shows finesse in its psychological interpretation. His friendshi p with his colleague Tyrell, rocked like B. by the waves of anti-modernism, rounds up in a clash that closes B.'s English period without putting an en d to the attraction he feels for English literary expression.