In this hugely enjoyable feat of historical reconstruction Peter Marshall connects two apparently unrelated events: the appearance of a ghostly old woman in Minehead in 1636 and the hanging, in Dublin four years later, of a protestant bishop for the crime of sodomy. Diarmaid MacCulloch writes: ‘Peter Marshall is an elegant guide through bizarre events which transcended there own time, resonating through more than three centuries of politics and religion in England and Ireland. His intricate story, told with hilarious elegance, makes the present troubles of the Anglican Communion seem like a vicarage tea party.’

Oxford University Press | Paperback 352 pp. |ISBN: 9780199532070