A quote from the Preface prepares the reader for the detailed history that follows:

"Of course, the King James Bible did not spring from the soil of Jacobean England as quietly and miraculously as a lily. There were arguments and struggles, exclusions and competitiveness. It is the product of its time and bears the marks of its making. It is a deeply political book. The period was held in the grip of an immense struggle: between the demands for freedom of the individual conscience and the need for order and an imposed inheritance; between monarchy and democracy; between extremism and toleration."


Adam Nicolson has been both a publisher and a travel writer, and is author of many award-winning books. He lives on a farm with his family near Burwash, England.

Published in 2003 | Purchase now | Read Review