Jerome, not yet a saint, was a simple man among the other monks at the monastery on the hill. All who lived there, monk or donkey, fulfilled their tasks each day, contributing to the well-being of the place. As for Jerome, he governed the monastery by day and at night worked late at his desk, translating the Bible into Latin. But it was not his work that brought about the miracle of this story. It was his kindness—a kindness capable of humbling both man and beast.

A wrong is righted and an injustice forgiven in Margaret Hodges's lyrical retelling of the legend of gentle St. Jerome and the lion that was his companion. Filled with revelatory slivers of light, Barry Moser's graceful, stately paintings illuminate an incident in the life of the saint, and the ardent following he inspired.

From the dust jacket