As in Undset's other fiction, however, Ida Elisabeth poignantly illustrates how poor choices affect the course of a person's life and how the suffering endured because of grievous mistakes can become the means by which a love is purified. Unlike Undset's famous historical novels, which are set in medieval Norway, the story of Ida Elisabeth unfolds in the 1920s. As she contemplates marrying again, Frithjof, now gravely sick, reenters her life. Still young and good looking, the admirably hardworking Ida Elisabeth attracts the attention of a successful lawyer, who possesses the manly virtues that her husband lacked. The single mother moves with her children to a small town. When Frithjof becomes involved with another woman, Ida Elisabeth divorces him. Early in their marriage, she realizes that her charming husband is too irresponsible to support the family and sews dresses to make ends meet. With sensitivity to the zealous love of God and man that permeated the life of Saint Catherine, Undset presents a most moving and memorable portrait of one of the greatest women of all time.In an effort to redeem her reputation, Ida Elisabeth imprudently marries her teenage sweetheart, Frithjof.

Believing that peace in Italy could be achieved only if the Pope, then living in France, returned to Rome, Catherine boldly traveled to Avignon to meet with Pope Gregory XI. The intensity of her prayer, sacrifice, and service to the poor won her a reputation for holiness and wisdom, and she was called upon to make peace between warring nobles. An extraordinarily active, intelligent, and courageous woman, Catherine at an early age devoted herself to the love of God.

Catherine of Siena was a particular favorite of Undset, who also was a Third Order Dominican. Their exemplary lives left a deep impression upon the author, an impression Undset credited as one of her reasons for entering the Church in 1924. Her meticulous research of medieval times, which bore such fruit in her multi-volume masterpieces Kristin Lavransdatter and The Master of Hestviken, acquainted her with some of the holy men and women produced by the Age of Faith. One of the greatest novelists of the twentieth century, Undset was no stranger to hagiography. Known for her historical fiction, which won her the Nobel Prize for literature in 1928, Undset based this factual work on primary sources, her own experiences living in Italy, and her profound understanding of the human heart.

Sigrid Undset's Catherine of Siena is critically acclaimed as one of the best biographies of this well known, and amazing fourteenth-century saint.

Ida elisabeth by sigrid undset