In 1780, the anti-Papist Gordon riots left 1,000 dead and London in flames; half a century later, Parliament passed the Catholic Emancipation Act. This narrative history charts the struggles that brought about that conclusion. It profiles the key players, including George III, a staunch opponent of emancipation; the political rivals Wellington and Peel; and the Irish campaigner Daniel O’Connell; and examines the conflict between the right to practise one’s religion and allegiance to the state.

Off-mint.

Off-mint.

Off-mint.

Off-mint.

Elizabeth Rees explores a key period in early Christianity in northern Britain. From St Columba’s Abbey on Iona to Aidan’s monastery on Lindisfarne, she describes hundreds of notable sites, many of which can still be visited, using maps and photographs to gain insights into the period. With the aid of archaeological finds, ancient inscriptions and texts, she tells the story of both well-known saints and lesser known individuals and describes the landscape they inhabited.

An Anzac veteran, Sydney Loch (1888–1955) and his wife Joyce settled in Thessalonika, in the last village where women were allowed before the wall of the male-only Athos peninsula. Drawing on 25 years of living there and exploring the Holy Mountain, this is Loch’s account of the autonomous region inhabited only by Orthodox monks, living in monasteries on the flanks of the mountain and keeping Byzantine time, in which the day begins at sunset. First published in 1957. Small print

Although Jesus’ conversation with Pilate was a moment of enormous political and theological significance, the Roman governor of Judaea is a shadowy figure in the Gospel accounts. Schiavone takes the reader on a ‘journey within early Christian memory’ to investigate what can be learned from those narratives and their intersection with Judaeo-Roman historiography: who was Pilate, what was he thinking during his questioning of Jesus and how did he become a figure of such controversy and ambiguity? American-cut pages.

Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, made his debut in April 1950, in the first issue of Eagle. A reaction to contemporary American imports, the revolutionary comic was the brainchild of the Rev Marcus Morris (1915–89). Co-written by his daughter, this is the first biography of an unconventional churchman and a visionary editor.

Slightly off-mint and felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

Off-mint. No jacket.

How should Christian religions adapt to today’s changing culture? The author argues that this question is best answered by considering the founders of monastic traditions, from the Greek-educated Clement of Alexandria (who died c.215 CE) to 12th-century reformer St Bernard. He explains how these early Fathers skilfully selected the spiritual treasures of the ancients and adapted them for new contexts.

Pope Pius XII has been much criticized for his role during the Second World War, particularly his alleged appeasement of the Nazis and failure to intervene on behalf of Jews during the Holocaust. This reappraisal challenges that view. Drawing on letters and other documents from the Vatican archives, it reveals his work for peace, his support for prisoners of war, and his efforts to save Jewish lives in Italy. Slightly off-mint.

Described by Newman as ‘a man of elegant genius, of classical mind, of rare talent in literary composition’, Frederick Oakeley (1802–1880) was the principal figure in the second generation of the Oxford Movement, renowned for his love of well-performed liturgy and music – and his hymn, O Come all ye faithful. Among his achievements, this biography examines Oakeley’s pioneering experiment at Margaret Chapel in London, where he was the first to translate the Oxford Movement’s theology into liturgical practice.

Written by a Carmelite solitary, this introduction to the Order focuses on its early years as a small group of hermits at the time of the Crusades and its development up to the era of the great 16th-century figures, with chapters on Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross.

The texts in this collection were excised from the liturgy in the 16th century, but have been newly arranged for use in modern worship. Mostly translated for the first time, they comprise sequences originally sung before the Gospel, prayers from the ancient Gallican rite and a variety of poems. The items are organized according to the seasons of the church’s year; each is accompanied by a short commentary.

The Jesuit Father Martin D'Arcy (1888–1976) was eminent both as a theologian and an aesthete. As Master of Campion Hall, Oxford, he rebuilt the house to a design by Lutyens, while his converts included Evelyn Waugh, Lord Longford and Edith Sitwell. This biography investigates his career and beliefs; his tragic friendship with Henry John, son of the painter Augustus; and his abrupt dismissal as Superior of the English Jesuit Province.