Glittering Images by Susan Howatch

I first read this novel as a required book for a counseling class I took for my Master's work, and recently re-read it. It is a fascinating book about a clergyman Charles Ashworth who is commissioned by his superior to visit the Bishop of Starbridge and see if there are any skeletons in his closet which would have potential to cause scandal. During the visit, Charles' interactions with the Bishop and others leads him to come up with interesting theories about what is going on in that residence, and in the process, Charles himself is faced with a moral and spiritual crisis.

There is some great counseling stuff in this book--great interactions between a spiritual director and a distraught man. To me, it is so interesting.

The title of this book, Glittering Images refers to the image people project to the world--the together, successful, good self that a person wants others to see. People often cling to this glittering image and strive with all their might to present this, afraid that if people saw what was really underneath that image, they would not be loved and accepted.