Robert Hugh Benson's psychology remains faithful to the root meaning of the word: it is the "study of the soul," which, according to Socratic and Christian traditions, is immortal and infinitely perfectible. This concept of the soul is explored in his essays, poems, plays, short stories, children's tales, sermons, prayer books, and novels. But his fifteen novels, written during the last eleven years of his life, best record his growing understanding of the soul's development.

Benson's novels contribute to the evolution of the religious novel (one that starts with meaning and talks about religion) into the theological novel (one that explores the mysterious human relationship with the transcendent and moves toward meaning). They describe the complex interrelations of his main characters' physical, emotional, and spiritual beings with the physical world, human society, and God. As the characters react to a variety of situations, they illuminate possibilities for the...