How the apostles read the Jewish scriptures
February 14, 2019
When Christians Were Jews By Paula Fredriksen Yale, 250pp, £19.99/$27.50 How did a group of 1st-century Jews, the followers of a recently crucified Jewish...
Stav Sherez
A place where mobile phones don’t buzz
August 16, 2018
Historical Noir by Barry Forshaw, No Exit, 220pp, £9.99 As we rush headlong into an uncertain future that seems at once both disorientating and...
The anxious times that formed Shakespeare
June 7, 2018
The Oxford Handbook to the Age of Shakespeare edited by R Malcolm Smuts, OUP, 848pp, £35 In the latter half of the 20th century,...
An electric longing for the presence of God
May 17, 2018
The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson, Picador, 207pp, £14.99 “It’s plain to you that at the time I write this, I’m...
The plot thickens over Shakespeare’s sources
May 2, 2018
Shakespeare’s Originality by John Kerrigan, OUP, 167pp, £25 How original was Shakespeare? And how was Shakespeare original? These are the two interlinked questions that...
The Near East: from Ice Age to ISIS
August 24, 2017
The Near East: A Cultural History by Arthur Cotterell, Hurst, £20 Farming. Cities. Writing. Monotheism. What is it about the ancient Near East which...
Why do Christians have all the best art?
July 20, 2017
Making Sense of Christian Art and Architecture by Heather Thornton McRae, Thames and Hudson, £9.95 What makes Christianity unique in the realm of religion...
Did Britain invent concentration camps?
March 2, 2017
Concentration Camps by Dan Stone, OUP, £12.99 The sociologist and Polish freedom-fighter Zygmunt Bauman called the 20th century “the century of camps”. While history...
A biblical warning for an age of despots
February 9, 2017
1 & 2 Samuel: A Kingdom Comes by David Firth, T&T Bloomsbury, £14.99 ‘The process of reading involves a dialogue between the text and...
A lyrical novel of modern martyrdom
February 2, 2017
The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam, Faber and Faber, £16.99 “The kinship of humanity was what Christ bought into the world,” reflects the fictional...
How the paintbrush changed literature
January 26, 2017
The Pen and the Brush by Anka Muhlstein, Other Press, 14.99 ‘I have not only supported the Impressionists,” the young Emile Zola boasted, “I...
The city where the book review was born
January 5, 2017
Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities by Bettany Hughes, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, £25 ‘Rome never fell, it simply moved 854 miles east,” is just...
How the apostles read the Jewish scriptures
February 14, 2019
When Christians Were Jews By Paula Fredriksen Yale, 250pp, £19.99/$27.50 How did a group of 1st-century Jews, the followers of a recently crucified Jewish...
A place where mobile phones don’t buzz
August 16, 2018
Historical Noir by Barry Forshaw, No Exit, 220pp, £9.99 As we rush headlong into an uncertain future that seems at once both disorientating and...
The anxious times that formed Shakespeare
June 7, 2018
The Oxford Handbook to the Age of Shakespeare edited by R Malcolm Smuts, OUP, 848pp, £35 In the latter half of the 20th century,...
An electric longing for the presence of God
May 17, 2018
The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson, Picador, 207pp, £14.99 “It’s plain to you that at the time I write this, I’m...
The plot thickens over Shakespeare’s sources
May 2, 2018
Shakespeare’s Originality by John Kerrigan, OUP, 167pp, £25 How original was Shakespeare? And how was Shakespeare original? These are the two interlinked questions that...
The Near East: from Ice Age to ISIS
August 24, 2017
The Near East: A Cultural History by Arthur Cotterell, Hurst, £20 Farming. Cities. Writing. Monotheism. What is it about the ancient Near East which...
Why do Christians have all the best art?
July 20, 2017
Making Sense of Christian Art and Architecture by Heather Thornton McRae, Thames and Hudson, £9.95 What makes Christianity unique in the realm of religion...
Did Britain invent concentration camps?
March 2, 2017
Concentration Camps by Dan Stone, OUP, £12.99 The sociologist and Polish freedom-fighter Zygmunt Bauman called the 20th century “the century of camps”. While history...
A biblical warning for an age of despots
February 9, 2017
1 & 2 Samuel: A Kingdom Comes by David Firth, T&T Bloomsbury, £14.99 ‘The process of reading involves a dialogue between the text and...
A lyrical novel of modern martyrdom
February 2, 2017
The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam, Faber and Faber, £16.99 “The kinship of humanity was what Christ bought into the world,” reflects the fictional...
How the paintbrush changed literature
January 26, 2017
The Pen and the Brush by Anka Muhlstein, Other Press, 14.99 ‘I have not only supported the Impressionists,” the young Emile Zola boasted, “I...
The city where the book review was born
January 5, 2017
Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities by Bettany Hughes, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, £25 ‘Rome never fell, it simply moved 854 miles east,” is just...
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