Last Words

Richard Holloway

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English

SWIFT PRESS
01 December 2025

Memoirs; Religion & beliefs

Richard Holloway has been the archetypal 'turbulent priest'. Having risen to be the Primus (Head) of the Scottish Episcopal Church, he abandoned religion and ecclesiastical office to fight for the rights of minorities and to write a string of best selling books, most famously Leaving Alexandria. He also became Chairman of the Scottish Arts Council.

In this, his last book, he reflects deeply on his life, most especially as a child of desperately poor parents in Dumbartonshire in Scotland. He tells the story of how he found faith but then abandoned Christian orthodoxy after leaving office as Head of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and discovered a new life as a writer, broadcaster, journalist and public intellectual.

This book opens and ends with chapters of a philosophical kind in which he explains how he lost belief in a loving God and became true to himself.

By: Richard Holloway
Imprint: SWIFT PRESS
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 135mm,
ISBN: 9781800755338
ISBN 10: 1800755333
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 01 December 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Richard Holloway was formerly Bishop of Edinburgh and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Born in extreme poverty in Alexandria on the banks of the Clyde, he became a priest and rose to the highest office, after he had a parish for some years in Boston, USA. Standing down from episcopal office, he abandoned his faith and devoted his time to writing, journalism and holding appointments such as Chairman of the Scottish Arts Council. He lives in Edinburgh.

Reviews for Last Words

'Richard Holloway is the bishop who doesn’t believe in God. He’s also one of the warmest, most thoughtful and most intelligent bishops I’ve ever met' - Joanna Moorhead, The Tablet