Eleanor Brown shares these stunning children’s books, inspired by medieval hagiography. These two books translate the lives and enduring significance of St. Euphrosyne and Julian of Norwich to a younger audience without sacrificing any of the narrative beauty and aesthetic appeal of the original texts. Commenting on her intellectual/artistic process, she writes:
For the tale of St. Euphrosyne I was at first unsure whether to lean into the Anglo-Saxon culture of the story-tellers I was reading from, or the Egyptian coptic tradition of the story’s subject. Eventually I chose the latter, as a less confusing communication and a more authentic exploration of Euphrosyne/Smaragdus themselves. Also, I am sure part of what attracted the Anglo-Saxons to this story was the glamour of an ancient vanished culture and far-away land…
Eleanor Brown thinks she might be a sophomore, but isn’t sure since she’s been working at this degree for an awfully long time between babies. She feels most alive, and most terrified, when she is trying to write something beautiful, and her deep down secret hope is that someday she will do that in a great big way.