A Recall to Dante

In 1932, the original year of publication for A Recall to Dante, the Florentine poet and his monumental Divine Comedy were a largely ignored legacy to English-reading Catholics. Alice Curtayne's A Recall to Dante exemplifies the urgent need to recall Dante from his "exile of disregard." The recognition that Dante wrote not for scholars or other poets, but for ordinary men and women in his homeland, is critical to this work. As a result, his poetry is approachable and enjoyable to a wide range of audiences. The humble mission of the book sacrifices exhaustive literary analysis, yet Curtayne’s pithy illustrative interpretations of the Comedy still offer much food for thought, as do her reflections on Dante’s invocations of the

Alice Curtayne (1898–1981) was an Irish author, critic, journalist, and lecturer. In 1935, she married fellow author Stephen Rynne, with whom she raised four children and tended their family farm. Curtayne’s rich bibliography comprises histories and hagiographies, fiction and biographies, all of which demonstrate her keen intellect and vivid imagination.

Paperback: 206 pages.