Fallen Order

‘This scholarly yet brilliantly accessible book could not be more timely… Without bias or oversimplified polemic, Karen Liebreich’s meticulous scholarship brings the whole sorry episode to light, step by step, in a piece of investigative writing that is relentless in its search for the truth.’ — KAREN ARMSTRONG ‘A brilliant book. The religious order, although it still exists, has now largely disappeared from the historical record. In the seventeenth century it was a powerful intellectual force in a world in turmoil. It pioneered new methods of schooling but for all its outward piety, it was also wrenched by a series of scandals involving child sex abuse and heresy. For centuries the Church has covered up the dark side of the order’s history. Until now. In Fallen Order Karen Liebreich has unearthed these events from the archives and she has told the story of the rise and fall of this group of priests with scholarly precision and enormous verve. Fallen Order is great history, as compelling as a detective story.’– ANTHONY PAGDEN, Professor of History, University of California .