Historians have long sought to connect the invention of the English as a people and nation with Christianity and with the use of the English language. They recognise the crucial role that the vernacular played as a means not only to preach the faith but to embed its principles into the very fabric of English society. No one has, however, attempted the task that Peter Ackroyd has set himself in this beautifully written reflection on the nation’s faith.
Tracing the spirit and nature of English Christianity over 1400 years, Ackroyd defines the constant that underpins the national character as ‘the
