10 h 53 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 53 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What do you hold on to when keeping your faith means risking everything familiar?
In John Henry Newman’s historical novel Callista, the temples and marketplace of Sicca belong to a pagan world. Agellius lives quietly as a Christian among relatives who do not share his faith. Under the emperor Decius, Christians face a stark demand: sacrifice to the gods or suffer for refusing.
Callista, a gifted young Greek woman, feels a hunger the old religion cannot fill. As she is drawn toward Christianity, Agellius doubts his strength to bear its cost. Then locusts strip the fields around Sicca, hunger spreads, and frightened people seek someone to blame. Questions of conscience become choices neither can keep at a distance.
What you’ll discover
- A restless search Follow Callista as admiration and charm leave her longing for something deeper.
- Faith under pressure Meet Agellius, whose quiet belief faces the demands of family, love, and fear.
- A town in fear Enter a landscape where locusts strip fields and hardship turns people toward blame.
- The pull of family See how Juba and Jucundus draw Agellius toward loyalties that complicate his faith.
- Conscience beyond argument Explore Newman’s view that religious certainty grows through more than reasoned debate alone.
Who will love it
Readers who love historical fiction about early Christians, faith under pressure, and ancient Rome and Africa will enjoy this novel. It suits those drawn to thoughtful romance and a heroine searching for meaning.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Agellius keeps his faith alone
- Fear gathers behind Roman confidence
- Kindness becomes pressure to compromise
- Callista exposes a divided love
- A priest meets Agellius in weakness
- Disaster turns suffering into persecution
- Callista gives her longing a hearing
- Conscience resists the demand to submit
- Two worlds ask for different loyalties
Who’s who
- AgelliusA young Christian estate manager in Sicca, lonely and sincere, who loves Callista and must learn what his faith asks of him.
- CallistaA gifted Greek maker of sacred images, homesick and restless, who longs for something her pagan world cannot give.
- JubaAgellius's proud, mocking younger brother, who claims to answer to no god and no master.
- JucundusTheir uncle, a comfortable seller of idols who loves Rome and his nephews and schemes to keep Agellius from Christianity.
- AristoCallista's charming Greek brother, who loves pleasure and wants to see his sister settled and safe.
- CæciliusA calm priest in disguise who nurses Agellius and gently challenges everyone he meets.
- GurtaThe brothers' stepmother, a feared witch who hates Christians and wants power over her stepsons.
- PolemoA vain and famous professor of philosophy who defends Rome and tries to talk Callista out of her path.
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Callista
by John Henry Newman · 1856
A young farmer, a Greek image maker and a hidden church leader meet as locusts and an imperial edict strike Sicca.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What happens to a quiet farmer when his town turns on his faith, and the woman he admires shows more courage than he does? Callista opens in 250, in the African town of Sicca Veneria, where a young Christian lives among pagan festivals and a faded Christian community.
Callista at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 15 min4 h 55 min fast, 7 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 88,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1856by John Henry Newman
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A hidden Christian farms among pagan festivals
The story opens in the middle of the third century in Proconsular Africa, a rich land of vineyards, rose gardens and barley fields. The city of Sicca is proud of its temples, and the oldest is a shrine of the goddess Astarte. It is the month of her feast, and the whole district is out drinking and dancing.
Agellius, twenty two years old, works as assistant bailiff on a wealthy man's estate. His superior scolds him for missing the festival and guesses that he belongs to one of those strange new sects. On the way home he meets a band of revellers. They see him make the sign of the cross and shout that he is a wizard who eats children. A woman throws a stone that whistles past his ear.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1856
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 5 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Newman, John Henry. Callista. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/callista.
Newman, J. H. (2026). Callista. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/callista (Original work published 1856)
Newman, John Henry. Callista. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/callista.
@book{newman2026callista,
author = {Newman, John Henry},
title = {Callista},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/callista},
note = {First published 1856}
}
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What is Callista about?
It tells of a young Christian farmer in the African town of Sicca in 250, a Greek artist who is drawn toward his faith, and a hidden priest, all caught in a persecution ordered by Emperor Decius.
Is Callista a true story?
No. Newman says in his preface that it is simple fiction from beginning to end. It rests on his reading about the early Church, and real figures such as Decius, Fabian and Cyprian appear in it.
When did Newman write Callista?
He started it in 1848, wrote chapters of it that spring, and finished it in the summer of 1855. It was first published in 1856 and later editions carry his added notes.
The author
John Henry Newman
1801–1890 · English cardinal and theologian
John Henry Newman (1801–1890) was an English cleric and cardinal. Born in London, he lived in Oxford and later Birmingham, where he died. He became a Catholic in 1845. His books include An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845), Callista (1856), and Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1864).
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