The English Soul: Faith of a Nation

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Now available in paperback, The English Soul portrays the spirit and nature of English Christianity as it has developed over the last 1,400 years. As the predominant faith of the people, Christianity has been the reflection, perhaps the embodiment, of the English soul. This fascinating new history argues that Christianity has been the anchoring and defining doctrine of England, while accepting respectfully that other powerful and significant faiths have also influenced the religious sensibility of this nation. Peter Ackroyd surveys the lives and faith of the most important figures of English Christianity, from the Venerable Bede to C. S. Lewis, exploring the mysticism of Julian of Norwich and William Blake, the tumultuous years of the Reformation, the emergence of the English Bible, the evangelical tradition, including John Wesley, and the contemporary contest between tradition, revival and atheism. This is an essential, comprehensive and accessible survey of English Christianity.

Reviews

Ackroyds 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 Telegraph *
Ackroyds 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 dont understand. As with all of Ackroyds 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 Observer *
Englands 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 Life *
The cameos are often effective and interesting summaries, and the book could be useful for introducing something of the background of English religious history. * Living Church *
Peter 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 Tablet *
Discerning 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 Oldie *
With Christianity in England seemingly under threat from all sides, not least the clergy who you would expect to safeguard its traditions, Peter Ackroyds The English Soul is full of this great historians usual passion and clarity and is an invaluable study of how the faith of the nation has evolved over the past 1500 years. * Choice *
In 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 Ackroyds 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 Today *
It 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, London *
Since 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 Ackroyds 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 University *
A 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 *

Author Bio

Peter Ackroyd is one of Britains 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.