Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

St. Francis of Assisi

By: G. K. Chesterton
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $10.88

Buy for $10.88

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential men in the whole of human history. This acclaimed biography of Saint Francis examines the life of a pure artist, a man "whose whole life was a poem". Here is the Saint Francis who prayed and danced with pagan abandon, who talked to animals, and who invented the crèche. Yet Francis also acknowledged the mystic responsibility to communicate his divine experience. Chesterton examines the existence of the pure eccentric and the devout mystic in one man, offering an understanding of Saint Francis in both body and soul. It has been said that G. K. Chesterton converted to Catholicism in 1922 because "only the Roman Church could have produced a Saint Francis of Assisi".

This biography, published shortly after Chesterton's conversion, is universally considered the best appreciation of Francis' life, one that gets to the heart of the matter.

©1923 Gilbert Keith Chesterton. © renewed 1951 by Oliver Chesterton (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about St. Francis of Assisi

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    741
  • 4 Stars
    205
  • 3 Stars
    115
  • 2 Stars
    43
  • 1 Stars
    22
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    762
  • 4 Stars
    155
  • 3 Stars
    66
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    11
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    652
  • 4 Stars
    179
  • 3 Stars
    110
  • 2 Stars
    39
  • 1 Stars
    25

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful blending of a great book and an exceptional reader!

Do not hesitate—buy this book. Not only is Chesterton’s book worthy of our attention, but also Mr. Vance is the perfect narrator for this book. A beautiful spiritual and literary resource.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

lovely book

I have listened to this one many times. it is one of my favorites! chesterton is my fav

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent short book on the wife of Saint Francis

This is a fun and great little book by Chesterton on the life of Saint Francis. The narration is excellent, and overall it is a good, though short, listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Overall, a bit wordy

But she has an interesting perspective on Saint Francis’s life and context. Considered one of the seminal biographies.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

well read, and a different view of St. Francis

leave it to Chesterton to find a great new take on this saint! greater reader too!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Quick introduction to St. Francis

I like Chesterton, and much of this was good introduction to St. Francis; however, it is a little heavy on explaining his method for approaching the writing, rather than the writing itself.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not enough about Francis!

The book was interesting and well narrated, however, Chesterton seems to assume that I already know quite a bit about Francis. I got the book to learn about Francis but the bulk of the book is Chesterton setting up a defence of his views on Francis as well as a critique of other contemporary writers on the subject of Francis and the church and miracles. More Francis please!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sublime story written by a sublime mind

Chesterton never stops surprising us.
Short book but full of enigmas and sentences that are far from my ordinary mind to conceive understanding. Still the little I’ve got made it unforgettable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An introductory, well thought, biographical sketch

The author describes this as a primer on St Francis. I call it an introductory, well thought, biographical sketch. The man who initiated a new order that is still alive today, was a poet and naturalist. I could picture him preaching to animals and humans alike. The audio of this text was helpful, but I believe a sit down read in the outdoors would be the best for enjoying this text.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

outstanding

The most important book I've read this year. Inspiring, challenging. I have a more well rounded understanding of St. Francis.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful