The Spiritual Formation of Evelyn Underhill

Book excerpt: Given the renewed interest in Evelyn Underhill with the publication of Evelyn Underhill’s Prayer Book (SPCK, January 2018), the time seems right to offer a fresh perspective on the writer’s spiritual formation. Having undertaken original research, Robyn Wrigley-Carr first explores the spiritual nurture that Evelyn Underhill received from Baron Friedrich von Hügel (‘to whom I owe my spiritual life’). Second she reveals the spiritual nurture that Underhill gave to people herself, utilizing both published and unpublished materials. At the heart of the book is the idea of a ‘long obedience in the same direction’: Underhill’s life had purpose and meaning as a result of the Baron’s spiritual direction and the soul care she tirelessly bestowed on others.