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first edition (2005), now out-of-print, while supplies last

The myth of St. George-and-the-Dragon comes to new and provocative life in this mystery-thriller set in Milwaukee. A gifted young Shakespeare scholar is haunted by a tragic past and recurring nightmares of a Knight, a Lady and a vicious Dragon. He thinks they’re just dreams, but when two people close to him fall victim in a seemingly motiveless series of brutal murders, James Ireton discovers there may be a very real Dragon preying in the shadows of his life. Worse, if he doesn’t find a bit of St. George in himself, the woman he loves may prove the Dragon’s ultimate victim.

format: 6 x 9 hardcover, 388 pages
• ISBN-10: 1595970002
• ISBN-13: 978-1595970008

First published in 1898, The Cardinal’s Snuff-Box is the first of Henry Harland’s “Catholic” novels after his conversion in 1897. A charming and witty romance set in turn-of-the-century Italy, it tells the story of Peter Marchdale, an English novelist who takes a small villa in the Lombard countryside for the purposes of getting some serious writing done. Marchdale’s good intentions are quickly thwarted, however, when he discovers that his beautiful young landlady is none other than the Duchessa di Santangiolo, an Anglo-Italian widow with whom he has been secretly in love for years. Unfortunately for the self-deprecating Peter Marchdale, the Duchessa is also a fabulously wealthy noblewoman, far above him in social station, and a devout Catholic to boot–two circumstances which would appear to raise certain obstacles to Peter’s romantic aspirations…until the matter is taken in hand by the Duchessa’s wily old uncle, a Roman cardinal with a penchant for pinching snuff, and for matchmaking.

format: softcover, 196 pages
• ISBN-10: 159597010X
• ISBN-13: 978-1595970107

In the first decade of the twentieth century, the Countess de Sampaolo, heir to the throne of an Italian isle, is a ravishing beauty graced with wit, charm, and a fi erce independent streak. Knowing her ancestors to be usurpers, she decides to single-handedly restore the rightful count of Sampaolo: Anthony Craford, a young, cynical landowner exiled in rural England. Under an assumed name, she rents a house on his estate and sets a ‘little scheme’ in motion… to make him fall in love with her.

format: 5.5 x 8.5 softcover, 212 pages
• ISBN-10: 1595970118
• ISBN-13: 978-1595970114

illustrated by John Murphy

Originally published in 1908, G.K. Chesterton’s classic nightmare-mystery-fantasy of Police vs. Dynamiters, Law vs. Anarchy and Religion vs. Nihilism has influenced writers as diverse as Franz Kafka and C.S. Lewis, and remains as exuberant and imaginative, as original and prophetic as when if first appeared.

This wonderful new Idylls Press edition of a Catholic fiction classic contains imaginative and original full-page and chapter-icon illustrations created by talented young writer and illustrator, <a href=”http://www.idyllspress.com/about-2/our-authors/john-murphy/”>John Murphy</a>.

format: 6 x 9 softcover, 184 pages
•    ISBN-10: 1595970010
•    ISBN-13: 978-1595970015

illustrated by John Murphy

Though it is not common to hear the words “Catholic fiction” and “Oscar Wilde” in the same breath, the fact is that Wilde not only died a Catholic, he also wrote an iconic horror story which, perhaps in spite of his initial intentions, turned out to be a classic morality fable in the Catholic tradition: The Picture of Dorian Gray. Idylls Press is very proud to offer a new edition of Wilde’s classic, beautifully illustrated by John Murphy in a neo-Symbolist style inspired by another Catholic convert of the same era, Aubrey Beardsley.

Eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and seccret, wild joys and wilder sins-he was to have all these things. The portrait was to bear the burden of his shame…

Such is the fateful wish of Dorian Gray, the young aristocrat who, enthralled by his own beauty, makes a Devil’s Bargain: his portrait will age while he remains eternally young. Poisoned by the influence of the insidiously charming Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes the pursuit of new and sinful sensations his highest aim in life. As he tests Lord Henry’s theories of Hedonism in the decadent underbelly of Victorian London, Dorian’s good looks remain unblemished. His portrait must bear the burden of his sins.

format: 5.5 x 8.5 softcover, illustrated, 256 pages

• ISBN-10: 1-59597-015-0
• ISBN-13: 978-1-59597-015-2

by David A. Craig

Mary’s House: New and Selected Poems by David Craig is a veritable hipster/scholar’s Lives of the Saints, taking us from the Psalms through a splendid, giddy, brilliant chorus of saints-women and men. Whether Craig is musing on a city stoplight glimpsed through a black iron fence or the sacred antics of Francis of Assisi on Mt. Alvernia, everything for this poet pulses with God’s breath and love. Moreover Craig is a master of both the short and long forms of his craft. This volume contains three of his most poignant narrative sequences, stirring in their historical sweep and vibrant in their intimacy: his portraits of Francis of Assisi, Thérèse of Lisieux, and Blessed Anna-Maria Taigi. Selected also are a number of Craig’s psalm translations and his remarkable sequence of sonnet meditations on Matthew’s Gospel. As always, Craig’s language is immediate, expressive, rich in imagery, as subtly crafted and luminous as stained glass.

format: 5.5 x 8.5 softcover, 268 pages
•    ISBN-10: 159597007X
•    ISBN-13: 978-1595970077

As the first Persian Gulf War approaches, Wes Hammond, an eager young naval officer and military school graduate, finds himself assigned to a Temporary Personnel Unit in peacetime California, awaiting orders for active duty. Together with three other newly commissioned officers and the women they meet, Wes waits for war by embarking on a series of journeys through the desert Southwest — until one ends with a sudden act of violence, and an unexpected opportunity for change.

format: 6 x 9 softcover, 236 pages
•    ISBN-10: 1595970088
•    ISBN-13: 978-1595970084

The myth of St. George-and-the-Dragon comes to new and provocative life in this mystery-thriller set in Milwaukee. A gifted young Shakespeare scholar is haunted by a tragic past and recurring nightmares of a Knight, a Lady and a vicious Dragon. He thinks they’re just dreams, but when two people close to him fall victim in a seemingly motiveless series of brutal murders, James Ireton discovers there may be a very real Dragon preying in the shadows of his life. Worse, if he doesn’t find a bit of St. George in himself, the woman he loves may prove the Dragon’s ultimate victim.

format: 5.5 x 8.5 softcover, 436 pages, with maps of Milwaukee, the Great Lakes, Wisconsin, and English locations
•    ISBN-10: 1595970142
•    ISBN-13: 978-1595970145