Reviews for Prayer Book and People in Elizabethan and Early Stuart England

The average rating for Prayer Book and People in Elizabethan and Early Stuart England based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-06-13 00:00:00 Mike Martinez This is one book which will definitely benefit from more than one reading. Canon Maltby hooks her reader in chapter by chapter & as such I found that I paced myself one chapter at a time, allowing a few days free between reads to think about what I'd just read; and pondering on how easy it is to feel utterly exasperated by the present day Church of England, yet knowing realistically that human nature doesn't change, even over centuries, and there never has been a time of widespread accord in the Church; the political nature of man(kind) sees firmly to that! Therein lies the compelling fascination of this book: the day to day evidence found in the historic parish records. Our ancestors really weren't that different from us: the laity conformed whilst the clergy rebelled. I can certainly think of hothead English clergy today who (sadly) would choose to side with Mr Jones, curate at Tarporley (Cheshire) who was reported as saying (around 1641) that the Book of Common Prayer was "composed by the imps in hell"!(p.151). I wonder if the present vicar of Whaplode spends the afternoon of Palm Sunday drinking ale (as his forebear did in 1638) instead of teaching and testing knowledge of the faith of the young? Canon Maltby also periodically succeeds in injecting wry punning into her (serious) text: "The second Edwardian Prayer Book (1552) considerably reduced the ceremonies associated with baptism. One unsinkable survivor, however, was making the sign of the cross on the forehead of the baptised person …" It has to be said that this is a specialised book for a specialised market. If you're in that market, then you are in for a real treat here. However, I cannot but feel that there is the potential for the screenplay of a superb film here.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-05-20 00:00:00 Lisa Newsome This sophisticated look at sin, giving attention to two concrete situations (sexual abuse, the Holocaust), seeks to demonstrate the descriptive and explanatory of a theological understanding of sin (or, pathology) over against modern, moralistic understandings of the same, and, the author succeeds in demonstrating this. The technical, complex language of the book is not for the faint of heart, nor can one drift along in reading the book - it requires some focus and attention - but if one can engage with it, it will prove worthwhile and beneficial. I highly recommend this superb and original work.