Books on the Life of Mary

Q: Are there any books on Mary's life?

A: There are many books that deal with Mary's life in a direct or indirect manner: dictionaries, scripture commentaries, mystical experiences, biographies both romanticized and critical, even novels. We have enclosed in the following selection something of everything. Information about Mary's life will certainly have to take into account multiple sources: scripture as foundation, tradition as complement and exploratory, but also accounts of Mary's earthly experience which highlight her spiritual profile and her role as model of Christian life.

Dictionary of Mary. New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co. 1985.

The New American Bible. Chicago: Catholic Press. 1970.

Agreda, Mary of and Fiscar Marison [a.k.a. Rev. George J. Blatter] (Trans). City of God [4 vols.] Albuquerque, NM. 1949.

Amedo de Coesare, Bonaventure. Maria de Jesus, de Agreda, sor, 1602-1665. Divine Life of the Most Holy Virgin Mary: being an abridgement of the Mystical City of God. Philadelphia: Cunningham, 1872.

Arras, Victor (Ed). De Transitu Mariae Apocrypha Aethiopice [Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium Vol. 342, 343, 351, 352, Scriptores Aethiopici Tomus 66-69]. Louvain:Secretariat Du CorpusSCO. 1973/74.

Basilio, da Montecchio. Mi chiamo Maria. Venezia-Mestre: Curia provinciale frati minor cappuccini, 1988.

Blinzler, Josef. Die Bruder und Schwestern Jesu. Stuttgart:Verlag Katholisches Biblewerk. 1967. pp. 158.

Brown, Raphael. The Life of Mary As Seen by the Mystics. Rockford, IL:TAN Books. 1951.

Brown, Raymond E. et. al. (Eds). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice Hall. 1990.

Brown, Raymond E. and Paul J. Achtemeier. Maria en el Nuevo Testamento: una evaluacion conjunta de estudiosos catolicos y protestantes. Salamanca: Ediciones Sigueme, 1982.

Buby, Bertrand. Mary, The Faithful Disciple. New York: Paulist Press. 1985.

Cameli, Louis J. Mary's Journey. New York: Sadlier, 1982.

Cameron, Ron (Ed). The Other Gospels. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. 1982. pp. 191.

Cantinat, Jean. Mary in the Bible. Translated by Paul Barrett. Westminster, Md.: Newman Press, 1965.

Chaine, M. (Ed). Apocrypha De Beata Maria Virgine [Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium Vol. 39 & 40, Scriptores Aethiopici Tomus 22 & 23]. Louvain:Imprimerie Orientaliste. 1955.

Charlesworth, James H. et al. The New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha:a guide to publications, with excurses on apocalypses. Metuchen, NJ:Scarecrow Press. 1987. pp. 450.

Chauffin, Yvonne. Marie, mère de Jesus: Illustre de tableaux et fresques de Giotto. Paris: Desclee De Brouwer, 1969.

Coleridge, Henry James. The Mother of the King: Mary During the Life of Our Lord. London: Burns and Oates, 1890.

Dalla Libera, Vittore. Maria nella sue terra. Milano: Edizioni Paoline, 1986.

Daniel-Rops, Henri. The Book of Mary. Translated from French by Alastair Guinan. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960.

Darton, Alice Weldon Wasserbach. His Mother, the Life History of Mary, the Mother of Christ. New York: Macmillan Company, 1927.

Deiss, Lucien. Mary: Daughter of Sion. Translated by Barbara T. Blair. Collegeville: Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1972.

Duggan, Consuelo. Maria, puerta del cielo. Milano: Editrice Ancora, 1991.

Elliott, James Keith. The Apocryphal Jesus: Legends of the Early Church. New York:Oxford University Press. 1996. pp. 214.

Elliot, James Keith (Ed). The Apocryphal New Testament: a Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1993. pp. 747.

Emmerich, Anna Katharina. The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary: From the Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich. Translated by Sir Michael Palairet. Springfield, III.: Templegate, 1954.

Emmerich, Anne Katherine and Michael Palairet (trans). The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Springfield, IL: Templegate, 1954.

Frizzell, Lawrence. "Mary and the Biblical Heritage" pp. 26-40 in Marian Studies Vol. 46 (1995).

Garofalo, Salvatore. Mary in the Bible. Translated from the Italian by Thomas J. Tobin. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing, 1961.

Gerbert, Olympe Philippe, Bishop. The Lily of Israel: the Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1916.

Giordani, Igino. Mary of Nazareth. Translated by Clelia Maranzana and Mary Paula Williamson. Boston: St. Paul Editions, 1965.

Guardini, Romano. Die Mutter des Herrn. Ein Brief und darin ein Entwurf. Würzburg: WerkbundVerlag, 1955.

Hervieux, Jaques and Dom Wulstan Hibberd (Trans). The New Testament Apocrypha. New York: Hawthorn Books. 1960. pp. 188.

Holy Apostles Convent. The Life of the Virgin Mary: the Theotokos. Buena Vista, Colo.: Holy Apostles Convent, 1989.

Hophan, Otto. Mary: Our Most Blessed Lady. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Co., 1959.

Jelly, Frederick. Madonna: Mary in the Catholic Tradition. Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor. 1986.

Laurentin, Rene. The Question of Mary. Translated from the French by I.G. Pidoux. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1965.

McNabb, Vincent. The New Testament Witness to Our Blessed Lady. London: Sheed and Ward, 1930.

Maggi, Alberto. Nostra signora degli eretici. Assisi: Cittadella Editrice, 1988.

Mamas, Melanie. My Lady Miriam. Translated and adapted from French by Sidney A. Raemers. Westminster: Md.: Newman Press, 1958.

Meyer, Fulgence. Who is She? A Treatise on the Blessed Mother. Cincinnati: St. Francis, 1935.

Miguens, Manuel. "Mary, A Virgin? Alleged Silence in the New Testament" pp. 26-179 in Marian Studies Vol. 26 (1975).

Northcote, J. Spencer. Mary in the Gospels: Lectures on the History of Our Blessed Lady as Recorded by the Evangelists. London: Burns and Oates, 1906.

Orsini, Mathieu. The History of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Edinburgh: John Chisolm.

Patsch, Joseph. Our Lady in the Gospels. Westminster, Md.: Newman Press, 1958

Perroy, Louis. The Humble Virgin Mary: Thoughts on the Mysteries of Her Life. London: Burns, Oates, and Washbourne, 1935.

Pius IX, Pope. Ineffabilis Deus [Dec. 8, 1854]. Boston, MA: St. Paul Books and Media. 1992.

Pius XII, Pope. Munificentissimus Deus [Nov. 1, 1950]. Washington, DC: National Catholic Welfare Conference. 1951.

Rinaldi, Bonaventura. Mary of Nazareth: Myth or History? Westminster: Newman Press, 1966.

Rohner, Beatus. Life of the Blessed Virgin. New York: Benziger Brothers, 1897.

Resch, Peter A. Biography of the Blessed Virgin. Milwaukee: Bruce, 1947.

Speyr, Adrienne von. The Handmaid of the Lord. New York: Daid McKay, 1955.

Spila, Arnaldo. La vita di Maria. Roma: Istituto Salesiano, 1987.

Stevens, Clifford. The Blessed Virgin: Her Life and Her Role in Our Lives. Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor, 1985.

Valtorta, Maria and Nicandro Picozzi (trans). The Poem of the Man-God [5 vols.]. Italy: Centro Editoriale Valtortiano. 1986.

Voragine, Jacobus de and William Granger Ryan (Trans). The Golden Legend. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 1993. pp. 391.

Ware, Kallistos et al (trans). The Festal Menaion. London: Faber and Faber. 1969.