The Devil is a Jackass

Reading more like an adventure story than an ecclesiastic’s autobiography, The Devil is a Jackass plots the course of William Ullathorne from cabin boy on the high seas to the establishment of the Catholic Bishopric of Birmingham. A direct descendant of St. Thomas More, Ullathorne spent four years before the mast before seeking to become a monk of the English Benedictine Congregation, entering the monastery at Downside. He volunteered for the Australian mission, of which he was made first Vicar-General at the astonishingly young age of 26, playing a major part in bringing transportation to an end and publishing the first popular attacks on the convict system.

Additional Information