A Field Guide to the English Clergy: A Compendium of Diverse Eccentrics, Pirates, Prelates and Adventurers; All Anglican, Some Even Practising

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A Book of the Year for The Times, Mail on Sunday and BBC History Magazine Judge not, lest ye be judged. This timeless wisdom has guided the Anglican Church for hundreds of years, fostering a certain tolerance of eccentricity among its members. Good thing, too. The Mermaid of Morwenstow excommunicated a cat for mousing on a Sunday. When he was late for a service, Bishop Lancelot Fleming commandeered a Navy helicopter. Mad Jack swapped his surplice for a leopard skin and insisted on being carried around in a coffin. And then there was the man who, like Noahs evil twin, tried to eat one of each of Gods creatures In spite of all this they saw the church as their true calling. After all, who cares if you're wearing red high heels when there are souls to be saved

Reviews

One of the best Christmas books of the past few years... both hilarious and unusually elegant in conception and execution.

* Marcus Berkmann, Spectator *

Eye-popping tales of lunacy, debauchery and depravityButler-Gallie has done a splendid job presenting a smorgasbord of most peculiar parsons.

* Sebastian Shakespeare, Daily Mail *

We havealways kept a special haven for oddballs in the Church of England, as Fergus Butler-Gallie demonstrates in this entertaining compendiumTheir foibles cover all bases from absentmindedness to epic drunkennessIm glad I read this one. Its a lot of fun.

* The Times *

Entertainingly eruditeBut it is also a surprisingly profound workFor all its mischief, Butler-Gallies work of lightly worn erudition is a paean to a great English institution, finely tuned to the temper of its representatives, good, bad and indifferent. We should treasure it more.

* Literary Review *

A humorous compendium of some of the oddball clergy who have served the Church over the centuries...These thumbnail portraits reveal a very broad church indeed.

* New Statesman *

The Church of England has produced some real oddballs in its time, and this is an entertaining gallop through several centuries worth of themButler-Gallie has done his homework, digging out some rare gemsThis is the story not just of eccentrics, but also of a leisured age that is no more.

* Harry Mount, Spectator *

Wonderfully entertainingA hilarious yet thoughtful reminder that the Christian faith wasnt always thought incompatible with a sense of humour or a healthy bolshiness.

* Sunday Times *

It may have the makings of a modern classicButler-Gallie chronicles not just Anglican follies, but also human weaknesses which we all share and with which we can perhaps sympathise.

* The Catholic Herald *

This is a ridiculously enjoyable book: funny, compassionate, and wonderfully well-written.

-- Tom Holland

A delightful, sympathetic, humorous and earthed cocktail of quirky English clergy.

-- The Rt Revd David Wilbourne

Fabulously enjoyable compendium of the Anglican Churchs most eccentric ministers who prove to be very eccentric indeed.

-- Readers Digest

Some of the most riotous misbehaviour in Church of England history is chronicled in this sprightly book.

* Daily Mail *

Author Bio

The Reverend Fergus Butler-Gallie is Assistant Curate at Liverpool Parish Church and the author of A Field Guide to the English Clergy, a Best Book of the Year for The Times, Mail on Sunday and BBC History. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Oxford and a bachelor's degree in theology from the University of Cambridge. He once accidentally appeared on Only Connect. This is his second book.