The title of the book, Abba, is the term used in more than one place in the New Testament for addressing God as Father and it is with the 'Our Father' prayer that these meditations are concerned. At first sight it might be thought impossible to say anything fresh on something so familiar to all Christians as the Lord's Prayer. Yet the inexhaustible depths of meaning to be found in it may, by the very fact of familiarity, all too easily escape notice and understanding.

Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) was an Anglo-Catholic writer who wrote about spiritual practice and specifically Christian mysticism. She published 39 books and contributed more than 350 articles and reviews. Her best-known works include Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of Man's Spiritual Consciousness and Practical Mysticism.