Msgr Robert Hugh Benson

Oddsfish! (1914). By Msgr Robert Hugh Benson

"Oddsfish!" (a title derived from King Charles' favorite epithet) is the last of Benson's historical romances and describes the plots and political movements of the closing scenes of the life of Charles II. Interwoven with the accurately portrayed events and places of the time are fictitious characters, including the narrator, Mr. Roger Mallock and his cousin and lady-love Dolly. Sent by Pope Innocent XI to Charles' court as a diplomatic representative of the Vatican, Mallock becomes a trusted confidant of the King and acts upon Charles's deathbed wish to give his confession to, and receive absolution from, a Catholic priest....................... Robert Hugh Benson AFSC KC*SG KGCHS (18 November 1871 - 19 October 1914) was an English Anglican priest who in 1903 was received into the Roman Catholic Church in which he was ordained priest in 1904. He was a prolific writer of fiction and wrote the notable dystopian novel Lord of the World (1907). His output encompassed historical, horror and science fiction, contemporary fiction, children's stories, plays, apologetics, devotional works and articles. He continued his writing career at the same time as he progressed through the hierarchy to become a Chamberlain to the Pope in 1911 and subsequently titled Monsignor. Early life: Benson was the youngest son of Edward White Benson (Archbishop of Canterbury) and his wife, Mary, and the younger brother of Edward Frederic Benson and A. C. Benson. Benson was educated at Eton College and then studied classics and theology at Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1890 to 1893. In 1895, Benson was ordained a priest in the Church of England by his father, who was the then Archbishop of Canterbury. Career: After his father died suddenly in 1896, Benson was sent on a trip to the Middle East to recover his own health. While there he began to question the status of the Church of England and to consider the claims of the Roman Catholic Church. His own piety began to tend toward the High Church tradition, and he started exploring religious life in various Anglican communities, eventually obtaining permission to join the Community of the Resurrection. Benson made his profession as a member of the community in 1901, at which time he had no thoughts of leaving the Church of England. As he continued his studies and began writing, however, he became more and more uneasy with his own doctrinal position and, on 11 September 1903, he was received into the Catholic Church. He was awarded the Dignitary of Honour of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. Benson was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1904 and sent to Cambridge. He continued his writing career along with his ministry as a priest................