Through Faith & Fire: The Monks of Spencer, 1825-1958.

8vo - 23 x 15.5 cm.; xxvi - 597 pp. Red paper over boards with brown paper on spine and gilt spine lettering. A well researched and documented history (Bertoniere is a professed monk living at Spencer) of St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. From the beginnings with Dom Augustin de Lestrange leaving France after the Revolution and the suppression of La Trappe, where Dom LeStrange was the novice master, and eventually moving to the New World, first to Nova Scotia and then to Spencer in Massachusetts. The chronicling of the history follows various abbots of Spencer and is profusely illustrated. Well annotated and with an eight page bibliography and a very comprehensive index. The book and jacket show mild shelf wear. However, there is one instance of underling in pen on page 375 where four lines of text are underlined. Aside from that, the book would be near fine.