A review by alexanderp
Helena by George Weigel, Amy Welborn, Evelyn Waugh

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

An interesting and humorously witty novel by Waugh. The anachronisms from his time that were imported backward in order for him to flesh out the story were jarring in places. Yet, it is the dialogue and the various events that "sell" this work and in some ways, it's a hagiography that only "hints" at the factual events of St. Helena's life, but it is the smaller asides that make the reading worth it. 

Waugh is trying to engage with faith and the worth of "physical" proofs, while also exploring what pre-Christian Rome could have been like upon the advent of the cult of Christ.