The story of St. Patrick's life is a dynamic tale of high drama and intense spiritual force. A generation ago, the American Catholic novelist John Edward Beahn retold that story as a biographical novel based on The Confession, Patrick's famous autobiographical work. A Man Cleansed by God: A Novel on St. Patrick's Confession was published in 1959, a vivid narrative with intriguing speculations about the details of Patrick's experience that have been lost to history.