BRADING, D. A. 1936-

PERSONAL: Born August 26, 1936, in Ilford, Essex, England; son of Ernest Arthur and Mary Amy (Driscoll) Brading; married January 27, 1966; wife's name Celia W. V. (an historian); children: Christopher. Education: Attended University of San Francisco, 1950-55. Religion: Roman Catholic. Hobbies and other interests: Music, walking.

ADDRESSES: Home—28 Storey's Way, Cambridge CB3 0DT, England. Office—History Faculty Building, Cambridge University, West Rd., Cambridge, England.

CAREER: University of California, Berkeley, assistant professor of history, 1965-71; Yale University, New Haven, CT, associate professor of history, 1971-73; Cambridge University, Cambridge, England, lecturer in history, 1973-92; director of Centre of Latin-American Studies, 1975-90. Honorary professor, University of Lima, 1993.

MEMBER: United Oxford and Cambridge University.

AWARDS, HONORS: D.Litt., Cambridge University, 1991.

WRITINGS:

Miners and Merchants in Bourbon Mexico, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1971.

Haciendas and Ranchos in Mexican Bajio, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1979.

Caudillo and Peasant in the Mexican Revolution, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1980.

Myth and Prophecy in Mexican History, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1984.

The Origins of Mexican Nationalism, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1985.

The First America, 1492-1867, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1991.

(Translator and editor) Generals and Diplomats: Great Britain and Peru, 1820-40, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, England), 1991.

Church and State in Bourbon Mexico: The Diocese of Michoaca, 1749-1810, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1994.

Marmoreal Olympus: José Enrique Rodo and Spanish-American Nationalism, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, MA), 1998.

Mexican Phoenix: Our Lady of Guadalupe: Image and Tradition across Five Centuries, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 2001.

SIDELIGHTS: D. A. Brading, a British-born professor of history, writes on topics religious, cultural, and political as they pertain to Mexico. In his 1991 work The First America, 1492-1867, Brading "first discussed the role of the Guadalupe cult in Mexican history," according to a Contemporary Review contributor. Since then Brading has produced a full-length study of Guadalupe—the apparition of the Virgin Mary—in Mexican Phoenix: Our Lady of Guadalupe: Image and Tradition across Five Centuries. In this book he provides what Paul Vanderwood of History called a "magnificent exposition of the central icon of the nation's religiosity" in "a study certain to be considered the crown jewel of [Brading's] distinguished career."

Mexican Phoenix explores the mystery of Guadalupe, beginning with the figure's first reported appearance, to Aztec native Juan Diego on December 9, 1531. The Virgin asked that a temple be built on the site of Tepeyac; to prove her presence to a skeptical bishop she is said to have imprinted her image on Diego's cloak. "Veneration began," noted Vanderwood. "Rome officially named the Virgin the principal patron . . . of all Latin America." But over the next centuries, the Virgin's intricately detailed image on the rough-hewn cloak—itself a religious icon—has been the subject of much debate. In the words of New York Times Book Review critic Garry Wills, Brading "recounts in detail the many struggles around this fascinating cult, whose authority grows as its authenticity diminishes."

Brading "offers a way to move beyond the debate centered on declarations and counter declarations of the veracity of scientific fact, by contemplating the significance of Guadalupe from the heart of Mexican faith and history," explained National Catholic Reporter writer Teresa Maya. In the same article, Maya noted that Mexican Phoenix "is not an easy read"; indeed, "the uninitiated reader will not find the answers to all his or her Guadalupe questions easily." Still, Maya praised the author's "exquisite new approach" to the subject, and maintained that those readers with a thorough grounding in Mexican religious history "will find the second half of the book most illumination, particularly the post-independence treatment of Guadalupe."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Historical Review, June, 1992, Peter Bakewell, review of The First America: The Spanish Monarchy, Creole Patriots, and the Liberal State, 1492-1867, p. 966.

Americas, October, 1995, Mark Burkholder, review of Church and State in Bourbon Mexico: The Diocese of Michoaca, 1749-1810, p. 9.

Catholic Historical Review, October, 1997, Caroline Williams, review of Church and State in Bourbon Mexico, p. 810; October, 2001, Stafford Poole, review of Mexican Phoenix: Our Lady of Guadalupe: Image and Tradition across Five Centuries, p. 773.

Church History, March, 1997, Robert Matter, review of Church and State in Bourbon Mexico, p. 136. Contemporary Review, October, 2001, review of Mexican Phoenix, p. 251.

Eighteenth-Century Life, November, 1996, Peter Mason, review of The First America, p. 107.

Eighteenth-Century Studies, spring, 1992, William Callahan, review of The First America, p. 421.

Hispanic American Historical Review, May, 2002, William Taylor, review of Mexican Phoenix, p. 357.

Historical Journal, September, 1992, Sabine McCormack, review of The First America, p. 753.

History, October, 1992, John Fisher, review of The First America, p. 464; fall, 2001, Paul Vanderwood, review of Mexican Phoenix, p. 16.

Journal of Ecclesiastical History, October, 1992, J. S. Cummins, review of The First America, p. 647.

Journal of Latin American Studies, May, 1992, review of The First America, p. 437; May, 1995, Margaret Chowning, review of Church and State in Bourbon Mexico, p. 472.

Latin American Research Review, winter, 1998, Susan Deans-Smith, review of Church and State in Bourbon Mexico, p. 257.

Modern Studies, winter, 1993, Timothy Anna, review of The First America, p. 119.

National Catholic Reporter, October 26, 2001, Teresa Maya, review of Mexican Phoenix, p. 34.

New York Times Book Review, April 28, 2002, Garry Willis, "Mexico's Miracle," p. 18.

Sixteenth Century Journal, summer, 2002, Lois Ann Lorentzen, review of Mexican Phoenix, p. 491.

Times Literary Supplement, August 16, 1991, p. 9.*