A groundbreaking reassessment of one of Christianity's foundational thinkers from award-winning classicist Catherine Conybeare

'Engaging, thoughtful, and illuminating' Madeline Miller 'A long-needed survey of the great theologian' Rowan Williams Augustine of Hippo is one of the world's most influential theologians, an early Christian writer whose work shaped the course of Western philosophy. Born in Numidia in 354 CE, Augustine's African identity has long been painfully denied. But it was foundational to his thinking and faith. Drawing on original sources and the Augustinian texts themselves, world-renowned scholar Catherine Conybeare traces Augustine's travels from North Africa to the European continent and back again, placing his African origins firmly at the centre of his story. A tale of exile, faith and identity, Augustine the African upends conventional knowledge about one of Christianity's most celebrated saints, and recentres Africa as the locus of early Catholic intellectual activity - with Europe on the periphery.

"beautifully written, thoroughly engaging and highly recommended" - Literary Review

"An engaging, thoughtful, and illuminating portrait... Conybeare vividly draws the thread of Augustine's African identity through his life and work in a fresh and elegant way. She has enlarged my perspective on this monumental, complicated man" - Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles

"Catherine Conybeare's vital and exhilarating biography of Augustine portrays him, newly, in the context of his African society and identity. Through her meticulously researched yet utterly compelling account, we live with him through the upheavals that shaped his faith and his work. Conybeare's is an important contribution and this is, simply, a wonderful book" - Claire Messud, author of The Emperor's Children