This book has its origin in the author's deep admiration for its subject as a man of great cultivation with the instinct of veneration as well as the determination to learn and to face the facts, an engaging human being as well as an exciting thinker. Her aim has been to encourage a wider reading of Santayana himself. With this purpose she provides an intimate picture of the man using material from his letters and making reference to his autobiography and other philosophical works; but within the biographical framework she also expounds his thought, endeavouring to show the high quality of her subject's "religion" of the imagination. The result is a firmly handled, quietly mannered exposition of the growth of Santayana's mind as seen in his books and the small events of his life as scholar and thinker. It will be suggestive for the general reader and a helpful introduction for the student.

Mossie May Kirkwood (1890-1985) was a professor of English at University College (1920-1936) and Trinity College (1936-1959) at the University of Toronto. She was also later Principal and Dean of Women at St Hilda's College (1936-1959).

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