Melanie McDonagh’s Converts: From Oscar Wilde to Muriel Spark, Why So Many Became Catholic in the 20th Century offers a thoughtful look at the British people who embraced Roman Catholicism during the twentieth century. McDonagh examines figures like Edith Sitwell, Graham Greene, Oscar Wilde, and Ronald Knox, showing how personal longing, intellectual curiosity, and social change shaped their religious journeys.
These vignets are samples of a broader movement within early and middle 20th Century British life, where tens of thousands of Brits joined Catholicism for various reasons. Some joined because of their spiritual connection to the faith, others because of family, or a personal connection to someone in the faith who helped them through a troubled time. Conversions topped 10,000 annually for a time in the 1910s and early 1920s per estimates before dwindling sharply after Vatican II.
Converts is an insightful and absorbing study of belief in an age often marked by skepticism. It reminds readers that spiritual searching remains central to human identity and cultural life. McDonagh approaches her subjects with sympathy while still acknowledging their flaws and contradictions. Readers interested in literature, history, or religion will find much to admire here.
MY RATING: 4.5
