Julian of Norwich, a significant figure in English spirituality, is believed to have been born around 1342 and was still alive after 1416. She lived during a tumultuous era marked by the Black Death, social unrest, and the Peasants’ Revolt. At the age of 30, while gravely ill, Julian experienced a series of visions of Jesus, which she initially recorded soon after her recovery. About two decades later, as an anchoress, she revised and expanded her account in what is now known as Revelations of Divine Love, the earliest known book in English written by a woman. Writing in the Middle English of her time, Julian’s reflections remain a profound testament to spiritual resilience and hope amid profound challenges.
Simon Parke has been a scriptwriter for Spitting Image, a Sony award-winning radio writer and a priest in the Church of England. He is now CEO of The Mind Clinic and author of ‘The Secret Testament of Julian’ and the Abbot Peter murder mysteries, set in Seaford on the Sussex coast where Simon now lives with Shellie, seagulls and his running shoes.
