RECENT church history from Gracewing includes Return of the White Canons: The modern Norbertines in Britain by Aidan Nichols (£12.99 (£11.69); 978-0-85244-833-5). The narrative relates to the Canons Regular of Prémontré in France, known also as the Premonstratensians, who originated in the 12th century, and to efforts to restore the order’s fortunes in England and Scotland from the 19th century onwards. At Storrington, where a priory was established, the order’s history takes on literary associations with Hilaire Belloc, Francis Thompson, and the Meynells. But the principal achievements of the re-established community were in parochial work.

Brian O’Leary SJ introduces for the general reader the mystical experiences of the author of the Spiritual Exercises in Ignatius Loyola: Christian mystic (Messenger, £12.95 (£11.65); 978-1-78812-648-9), and argues for an accessible “everyday mysticism”.