This volume investigates the theological framework and spiritual interiority of Gerard Manley Hopkins through his private sermons and devotional prose. Christopher Devlin provides a scholarly introduction that contextualizes these writings within the Victorian Jesuit tradition. The collection serves to bridge the gap between Hopkins's technical poetic innovations and his rigorous, often ascetic, religious commitments.

Scholars and theologians frequently cite this volume as a primary resource for understanding the intellectual rigor behind Hopkins's religious life. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which requires a foundational knowledge of 19th-century Jesuit theology to fully appreciate.