Julian of Norwich (1342-c. 1416) is known to us almost only through her book, The Revelations of Divine Love, which is widely acknowledged as one of the great classics of the spiritual life. She is thought to have been the first woman to write a book in English which has survived.
Julian spent much of her life as an anchorite, a vowed religious living by herself in a small room. What is known about her is her remarkable book, The Revelations of Love, an account of twenty years' reflection on a series of visions which revealed to Julian the depths of God's unconditioned love for us in Jesus Christ.
Today virtually nothing is left of the original cell where Julian lived. In the 1950s the cell was reconstructed, along with the church which had been destroyed during WWII bombardment. The reconstructed cell serves as the Julian Shrine, a place of pilgrimage and prayer. The Anglican Communion celebrates Julian's feast the 8th of May.