English Soul

Peter Ackroyd is one of Britain’s most respected historians and novelists. His many books include London: The Biography, Hawksmoor and the bestselling History of England series. He is also the author of The English Actor, a fascinating study of the English actor from medieval times to the modern day, also published by Reaktion.

Ackroyd’s history of Christianity in England is a lively and detailed book. . . . In The English Soul, Ackroyd sets himself the task of capturing the “spirit and nature” of English Christianity. - Daily TelegraphAckroyd’s new book is about the evolution of Christianity in England, from the venerable Bede to Justin Welby. The book carries the title The English Soul, what he defines now as “a convenient shorthand for qualities which we don’t understand.” As with all of Ackroyd’s books, you arrive at the end of this procession of mystics and evangelists, heretics and headbangers, briefly cleverer than when you began. His history takes in lives of a multitude of believers from Julian of Norwich, through John Donne and John Wesley, to GK Chesterton and CS Lewis, with numerous enjoyable diversions along the way. - The ObserverEngland’s history has been interwoven with Christianity for the past 1,400 years. "The spirit and nature" of that faith is now the subject of this book . . . this character-led account, from Bede to Wleby, is clear and instructive. At his best, Peter Ackroyd distils with dexterity. - Gavin Plumley, Country LifeThe cameos are often effective and interesting summaries, and the book could be useful for introducing something of the background of English religious history. - Living ChurchPeter Ackroyd is the master of the broad-sweep tour de force. In The English Soul he surveys the lives and faith of the most important figures in English Christianity, from the Venerable Bede to C.S. Lewis, exploring, along the way, the mysticism of Julian of Norwich and William Blake. - The TabletDiscerning the English soul is here performed through 23 chapters of biographical sketches from Bede in the seventh century to the present day . . . if Ackroyd does not convincingly find the English soul, he is agreeable company through the centuries in search of it. - The OldieWith Christianity in England seemingly under threat from all sides, not least the clergy who you would expect to safeguard its traditions, Peter Ackroyd’s The English Soul is full of this great historian’s usual passion and clarity and is an invaluable study of how the faith of the nation has evolved over the past 1500 years. - ChoiceIn the Western world today, Ackroyd is one of the finest writers of biography, history, and fiction. His most recent project turns attention to the field of religion, setting out to describe what he calls the “spirit and nature of English Christianity” as it has developed over the past 1,400 years. The English Soul offers an episodic and biographical account of books, individuals, and communities that have done most to shape this tradition. Consistent with Ackroyd’s gifts, the book crafts superb turns of phrase while approaching its subject with curiosity, generosity, and breadth. . . . It is provocative and sometimes baffling but also shrewd, carefully observed, and at its best, brilliant. - Christianity TodayIt is the gift of the historian to accompany a compelling narrative with a passionate intensity that helps the reader see why it matters so much, an analytical detachment that offers rewarding evaluation, and a playful predilection for anecdote that charms and cheers. Peter Ackroyd combines all four in this marvellous episodic depiction of faith in England, which wisely eschews comprehensiveness for the relish of close encounter. In doing so, Ackroyd describes how the word has most characteristically and distinctively become flesh in this green and pleasant land. By the end you know Christianity better – and you know England better. - Samuel Wells, Vicar, St Martin-in-the-Fields, LondonSince before there was an England, the English have been defined by their relationship with Christianity – both positive and negative – in its many, ever-changing forms. Through Ackroyd’s calm gaze we see the leading characters and moments of that story, facile judgements suspended in favour of a warm, rigorous humanity. - Alec Ryrie, Professor of the History of Christianity, Durham UniversityA wonderful, occasionally breathless, often enlightening and always entertaining pilgrimage through 1,400 years in search of the faith of the nation, or, more broadly, the English soul, which exists beyond the confines of institutional religion. As a guide to its history and spiritual drama, Peter Ackroyd is colourful, opinionated and thought-provoking. - Peter Stanford, author of If These Stones Could Talk: The History of Christianity in Britain and Ireland through Twenty Buildings