Peter Stanford's previous investigations into the history, theology, enduring appeal and cultural significance of religious ideas include Angels: A History; Martin Luther: Catholic Dissident; Judas: The Troubling History of the Renegade Apostle; The Devil - A Biography; Heaven - A Traveller's Guide to the Undiscovered Country; and The She-Pope, an investigation of the Pope Joan legend. His other books include biographies of Bronwen Astor, Lord Longford and the Poet Laureate, C Day-Lewis, plus the polemical Catholics and Sex that became an award-winning Channel 4 series in 1992. He is a senior features writer at the Daily and Sunday Telegraph titles, and contributes to the Independent, the Observer, the Daily Mail and the Catholic weekly, the Tablet, where he is a columnist. He has presented programmes on BBC 1, Channel 4 and Channel 5, as well as BBC Radios 2 and 4 and the BBC World Service.
Someone new to both church history and church-crawling (when he or she can find a church open) would learn a good deal from this agreeably written book. -- Lucy Beckett * TLS * I have long found the books of Peter Stanford to be always entertaining and stimulating. This rich and varied text . . . ought to be enjoyed by a wide audience as it describes and comments on nearly 2000 years of religion among the many cultures that have come and gone in that time. -- Peter Costello * Irish Catholic * In this rich and beguiling book, Peter Stanford gets old stones to tell us about the turbulent history of Christianity in the British Isles. * Richard Holloway * It explores the history of Christianity through its sacred buildings and delves into the stories that are part of our landscape... I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. * Jumoke Fashola - BBC Radio London *