The Dream of Gerontius

By John Henry Newman and Julius Joseph Gliebe

Book Overview

"The Dream of Gerontius" is a profound and evocative poetic exploration of the soul's transition from the moment of death to its encounter with the Divine. Written by John Henry Newman, this masterpiece of Victorian religious literature follows the journey of a dying man, Gerontius, as his soul departs his body and is guided by a Guardian Angel toward the judgment seat of God. Along the way, Gerontius encounters various spiritual beings, including both demonic forces and choirs of angels, whose hymns provide a rich theological framework for the narrative.

The work is celebrated for its lyrical beauty and its deep meditation on the Catholic doctrines of purgatory, divine mercy, and the state of the soul after death. By dramatizing the internal and external realities of the passage into the afterlife, Newman creates a universal reflection on mortality, faith, and the hope of redemption. "The Dream of Gerontius" remains a significant contribution to Christian mysticism and English literature, later gaining even wider recognition as the text for Edward Elgar's famous choral composition. It stands as an essential work for readers interested in spiritual poetry and the enduring questions of human existence.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1025614135
• ISBN13: 9781025614137
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Tradd Street Press
• Length: 108 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The Dream of Gerontius

This book captured my interest as it is the basis of an oratorio by Sir Edward Elgar. Being a musician, I like to do a bit of research into literary sources of musical compositions. The book contains a disclaimer that some pages may be missing or that print quality may be less than perfect or that strange paginations may appear. This edition of The Dream of Gerontius contained all of the pages and color quality was fine. There were some checks and X's throughout but nothing that hampered the intelligibility of the text.