Augustine the African

A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF 2025

By: Catherine Conybeare

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Hardcover | 21 August 2025

At a Glance

Hardcover
288 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.6 x 16.2 x 3.1

Hardcover

$53.75

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A groundbreaking reassessment of one of Christianity's foundational thinkers from award-winning classicist Catherine Conybeare

Augustine of Hippo is one of the world's most influential theologians, an early Christian writer whose work shaped the course of Western philosophy. Born in Numidia in 354 CE, Augustine's African identity has long been painfully denied. But it was foundational to his thinking and faith. Drawing on original sources and the Augustinian texts themselves, world-renowned scholar Catherine Conybeare traces Augustine's travels from North Africa to the European continent and back again, placing his African origins firmly at the centre of his story.

A tale of exile, faith and identity, Augustine the African upends conventional knowledge about one of Christianity's most celebrated saints, and recentres Africa as the locus of early Catholic intellectual activity - with Europe on the periphery.

About the Author

Catherine Conybeare is a professor of Greek, Latin, Classical Studies and Humanities at Bryn Mawr College. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including from the Guggenheim Foundation, and has held visiting fellowships at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. She lives in Pennsylvania.

Industry Reviews

"'An engaging, thoughtful, and illuminating portrait... Conybeare vividly draws the thread of Augustine's African identity through his life and work in a fresh and elegant way. She has enlarged my perspective on this monumental, complicated man' - Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles
'Catherine Conybeare's vital and exhilarating biography of Augustine portrays him, newly, in the context of his African society and identity. Through her meticulously researched yet utterly compelling account, we live with him through the upheavals that shaped his faith and his work. Conybeare's is an important contribution and this is, simply, a wonderful book' - Claire Messud, author of The Emperor's Children
'""A long-needed survey of the great theologian's hinterland... His contemporary significance becomes clearer than ever in this excellent study.""' - Rowan Williams
'In this highly readable and innovative account, Conybeare has performed the challenging task of bringing alive this often-sidelined basis of Augustine's life. With both verve and precision, she makes us see how central his African world was to the man and his ideas' - Brent Shaw, Professor in Classics, Emeritus, at Princeton University"

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