Thomas Hammerlein was born in Kempen, North Germany, some six hundred years ago. He took the cowl at the age of twenty, entering the monastery of St Agnes where, now known as Thomas à Kempis ('Thomas from Kempen'), he spent the remaining seventy years of his life. It was in this secluded environment that he wrote his devotional classic 'The Imitation of Christ' which had its origins in a Dutch lay religious society, the Brethren of Common Life. Respected equally by Christians of all denominations, the work is divided into four 'Books': on the spiritual life, on the interior life, inward consolation, and the sacrament of the altar. 'The Imitation of Christ' is a profound meditation on the Christian spiritualexperience, giving guidance and explicit instructions on renouncing the world and discovering the Eternal within, by emulating the life of Jesus. It is hard to overstate the influence of this work: with the exception of The Holy Bible, it has been printed in more copies, and changed more lives, than any other book.