Available Formats
Bringing in the Sheaves: Wheat and Chaff from My Years as a Priest
By (Author) Richard Reverend Coles
Orion Publishing Co
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
8th July 2025
10th April 2025
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Anglican and Episcopalian Churches
Radio / podcasts
283.092
Paperback
256
Width 128mm, Height 196mm, Spine 20mm
229g
'The best vicar ever' - Caitlin Moran
THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE CANON CLEMENT SERIES, THE REVEREND RICHARD COLESAfter a life of sex, drugs and the Communards, recounted in his acclaimed memoir Fathomless Riches, the Reverend Richard Coles devoted himself to God and Christianity. So what is life like for the parson in Britain today From his ordination, through Advent and Christmas to Lent and Easter, Reverend Coles gives us a unique insight into his daily experience in the ministry, with all the joy, hope, drama and difficulty that entails. Written with extraordinary charm and compassion, Bringing in the Sheaves will inspire and inform all who read it.Others mapping the daily clerical grind might hold forth on divine transcendence and immanence, on our fallen natures and need of grace. Not so Richard Coles ... Bringing in the Sheaves is an invitation to see the world as he does: the ultimate in the intimate - after all, what other way is there -- Christopher Harding * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *
Bringing in the Sheaves is another lively and perceptive collection of anecdotes and insights derived from his recent experience of juggling daily life as a parish priest with his curious hinterland of burgeoning celebrity. Coles is a witty and likable raconteur -- Phil Harrison * GUARDIAN *
Coles draws on his 11 years in the clergy, with all the humour, quirky characters and incidents that life - and death - serve up * MAIL ON SUNDAY EVENT MAGAZINE *
There is much to teach us and inspire us as well as to entertain and make us laugh -- Paul Richardson * THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND NEWSPAPER *
His life story is intriguing - pop star to Anglican vicar - but it is his insights into the church's present situation, Christian belief and above all human encounters that are honest, sometimes funny and occasionally revelatory -- Susan Hill * THE SPECTATOR Books of the Year *
An entertaining mix of the sacred and the secular, the gossipy and ritualistic grandeur that attempts to give the reader a feel of the texture of the life of a vicar -- Teddy Jamieson * THE HERALD MAGAZINE *
It's a vision of contemporary Anglicanism as seen through a particular, perhaps slightly glitterballed perspective. I enjoyed it even though I'm an atheist * THE HERALD MAGAZINE *
Richly associative and absorbing -- Nick Curtis * RADIO TIMES *
A series of often hilarious vignettes * SAGA *
It is a delightful compilation of thoughts, memories and incidents, all told with his signature humanity and humour * CHOICE *
Coles offers an engaging portrait of the lived Christian life in a way that speaks openly and intriguingly to both cradle Anglicans and cagey agnostics -- Christopher Landau * CHURCH TIMES *
Screamingly funny -- Thomas Blaikie * THE LADY *
Charming ... This is a book to keep on the arm of your chair and browse through -- Miranda Threlfall-Holmes * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *
Great riches, spiritual and worldly, and an honest perspective on humanity -- Susan Hill * THE LADY *
THE REVEREND RICHARD COLES is a writer, broadcaster and an Anglican priest. He co-presented Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4 for a number of years and appears, from time to time, on QI, Have I Got News For You and Would I Lie To You He has won Christmas MasterChef, Celebrity Mastermind twice, and captained Leeds to victory in Christmas University Challenge in 2019. A contestant on Strictly Come Dancing (2017) and a third place finalist on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! (2024) he exhibits huge bravery.
He writes regularly for the Sunday Times, and is the author of half a dozen books, including a bestselling autobiography, Fathomless Riches, and the bereavement bestseller The Madness of Grief, written after the death of his partner, David Coles. The first three books in the Canon Clement series have all been No.1 Sunday Times bestsellers.