Brown (English, University of Hartford) has produced a wonderful and carefully annotated edition of the Middle English translations of the Latin vitae of three thirteenth century Belgian mystics, Elizabeth of Spalbeek, Christina the Astonishing and Marie D'Oignies. These lives were written by clerics who had known them and were intended as examples of female piety. Much has been written about these women from a feminist point of view. They all lived outside of convents and all practiced extremes of self-mortification. Christina also flew, needing to be pulled down from the ceiling by her family now and then. In addition to editing the Middle English, Brown adds an analytical chapter on each biography, discussing the difference between the Latin text and Middle English translation and giving background on the women, their biographers and the critical reception of the works. She has thoughtfully provided a glossary of unfamiliar words that would make this work accessible to students. Distributed in North America by the David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)