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Letters from 6 to
12 July 2009
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Waiter, there's
a canon in my soup!
I read your article
on the dearth of sensational thrillers based on the Anglican Church
with much amusement. Yes, it HAD occurred to one or two persons that
the poison pen writers (as Dan Brown and others of his ilk have been
named by outraged Catholics), have so far spared Anglicanism their attentions.
Of course, the well-known Anglo-Saxon aversion to emoting could be a
part of this . . . unlike the [Roman] Catholics, a paean to sex and
intrigue within the citadels of Anglican nabobs would raise barely a
peep from well-bred Anglos, who don't even complain about bad service
in restaurants.
And also — most
importantly — the Roman Catholic church is a huge beast, with lots
of centuries old positions, sinecures, and prestige. The average Bishop
of Durham or Rochester or some deity-forsaken spot in Africa or Asia
has a thankless task nowadays, and often needs a spot of criticism and
harassment to keep him (or sometimes her, another example of why Anglicanism
is boring, it's gone inclusive) aware of the fact that the public recognises
that he or she is out there at all.
And with most
clergy married, or allowed to be, or openly gay (or allowed to be),
where's the fun in that?!!
Obi Udeariry
St. Andrew's, Aladinma, Owerri
Owerri, NIGERIA
netwalker55@yahoo.es
7 July 2009
Grace Cathedral
by any other name
Some years ago
Armistead Maupin wrote a delightful series of books based in San Francisco
centering largely around gay characters whose beginning title was 'Tales
of the City'. In one of the sequels, a murder and other mysterious
intrigue was set in Grace Cathedral, albeit under a different name.
Doesn't this qualify?
Father Carlton
Kelley
Richmond, Indiana, USA
Carlton.Kelley@FSSA.IN.gov
8 July 2009
Editor: The
'murder and other mysterious intrigue' in the novel you reference
would need to be set within the diocese or have a dean as a murderer
or some such to fit the bill; otherwise, the Cathedral is merely
an incidental backdrop. From what we can tell from the Wikipedia
article, the novels feature San
Francicso as the 'institutional character' and not the Anglican Church.
War in Heaven,
but not in Lambeth Palace
Enjoyed
your editorial. Many years ago I
was introduced to Charles Williams and loved his metaphysical thrillers,
the titles of which I can no longer remember. They are probably
now all out of print, but I think they meet your criteria very well.
The Reverend
Canon Bob Webster
Church of St. Martin in the Fields
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA
8 July 2009
Editor: We
dearly love Williams's supernatural thrillers', as TS Eliot called
them, but we don't see the Anglican Church or its prelates looming
large as central 'characters' or the church structure being a central
aspect of the novels. Often there is seraphic vicar or clever curate,
but that's the sort of figure we expect in Anglican 'thrillers'.
Mind you,
we weren't lamenting the lack of Anglican equivalents to 'The Vatican',
just raising the question of their absence and the possible reasons
for it.
And
good news: A number of Charles William's works are available on the
web. See http://gutenberg.net.au/plusfifty-n-z.html#letterW and
scroll to his name.
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