An authoritative biography of Calvin, explaining his central role in the Reformation and clearing away misconceptions and prejudices that surround him.

Few great men have been so consistently misunderstood as Calvin and the eminent Swiss man of letters, Emanuel Stickelberger, throws a vivid light upon both the man and his times. Stickelberger sees the pale, frail man of Geneva against the background of the tumultuous times in which he lived. His iron will constant struggle with ill health, utter dedication to his task, almost super-human capacity for work and indifference to financial reward, are all arrestingly portrayed. Stickelberger paints his portrait with a remarkable economy of words and with a fine sense of drama. The result is a vivid and fascinating study of a man and an epoch that holds the reader's attention from the first page to the last.