I've just finished the new biography of Calvin by Herman J Selderhuis. It really is very good. Mr Selderhuis, an expert in the Reformation field, is a real friend to Calvin in that he he seeks to tell is as it is. Here is Calvin warts and all - a man who not everyone liked, a man with a temper, a man with early ambitions, a man whose life did not turn out how he expected, a man who grieved bitterly when people died including his wife and child, a submissive man, a real human being.
There's probably a lot of Mr S here as well as Mr C. The book is written in an attractive but slightly quirky style. There are so many quotations from Calvin's letters and other writings, however, that this must be fairly close to the real thing. The approach is largely chronological but also deals with themes. There are lots of biographies at present I'm sure but this one can be heartily commended to all. Packed with scholarship, it is worn lightly, even disarmingly, and is an important contribution to this Calvin 500 year.
For more on this and Robert Godfrey's effort see here.
There's probably a lot of Mr S here as well as Mr C. The book is written in an attractive but slightly quirky style. There are so many quotations from Calvin's letters and other writings, however, that this must be fairly close to the real thing. The approach is largely chronological but also deals with themes. There are lots of biographies at present I'm sure but this one can be heartily commended to all. Packed with scholarship, it is worn lightly, even disarmingly, and is an important contribution to this Calvin 500 year.
For more on this and Robert Godfrey's effort see here.
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