The Bishop’s Wife

This classic novel is the inspiration behind the beloved Christmas film of the same name starring Cary Grant and Loretta Young.

Bishop Henry Brougham desperately wants to build a great cathedral for his overcrowded parish. The problem is he doesn’t know how he will find a capable archdeacon to help fund the project. But that’s not his only problem. Though his beautiful wife Julia fulfills her marital duties, there is no passion between them. When the bishop prays for help, it comes in the form of Michael, a handsome, golden-haired angel who takes the position of archdeacon. Michael exudes love, which draws new and unexpected emotions from Julia. However, Michael’s limitless capacity for love is stifled by his mortal duties of manipulating money from wealthy religious patrons.

With the holidays approaching, the bishop senses the mutual attraction between Julia and Michael. Will the purity of a divine love lure Julia away, or will her sense of marital duty prevail?

“Mr. Nathan’s method of approach is the way of the goldfinch with the thistledown, or of the unconcerned robin guilelessly cocking his head before the peck. Moreover, the words that he uses are as cobwebs that catch the dew of his thought—delicately patterned filaments exactly adequate to the burden glistening upon them. In short, to say that The Bishop’s Wife has beauty, charm, wit, and wisdom is not to overpraise the book.”—Saturday Review of Literature