A thoroughly beguiling tour around the manifold riches of Britain's churches, Ross' immersive book ranges from unassuming parish to mighty cathedral and tells a defiantly human story of art, architecture, history and culture.
Waterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month for February 2024
Churches are all around us. Their steeples remain landmarks in our towns, villages and cities, even as their influence and authority has waned. They contain art and architectural wonders - one huge gallery scattered, like a handful of jewels, across these isles.
Award-winning writer Peter Ross sets out to tell their stories, and through them a story of Britain. Join him as he visits the unassuming Norfolk church which contains a disturbing secret, and London's mighty cathedrals with their histories of fire and love. Meet cats and bats, monks and druids, angels of oak and steel.
Steeple Chasing, though it sometimes strikes an elegiac note, is a song of praise. It celebrates churches for their beauty and meaning, and for the tales they tell. It is about people as much as place, flesh and bone not just flint and stone. From the painted hells of Surrey to the holy wells of Wales, consider this a travel book . . .with bells on.
Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
ISBN: 9781472281951
Number of pages: 432
Weight: 303 g
Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 42 mm
What makes Steeple Chasing so compelling - and it is a wonderful book; thoughtful and challenging - ... is Ross's essential kindness, his unfailing empathy with the people he meets on his pilgrimage. - Daily Telegraph
A charming odyssey . . . in this lyrical love letter to churches Ross reminds us there is something worth saving and people who will make the effort. - The Times
His book is a delicious treat, and one that both believers and sceptics will enjoy. - Financial Times
Reading a book is another reciprocal act: if it's good, it stays with you. Ross's readers will have his words humming through them for a long time. - Spectator
Lovely, lyrical, whimsical, elegiac ... Ross has a gift for making you feel you're there with him, just as awed as he is. - Times Literary Supplement
Ross has always had a quiet charm, and it is perhaps displayed best in this book. . . it is properly interested in humanity, especially in its complexity. - The Scotsman
Steeple Chasing is, as you might expect from Ross, itself a beautiful object, full of delicacy and deliberation in the writing. . .a fascinating, beautifully written book full of both the strange and the terrible, but also full of grace and love. - The Herald
Beautifully observed and evocatively written. - Country Life
Never less than fascinating. - Books From Scotland
It can be tempting when confronted with (gestures wildly) *all of this* to retreat into cynicism. Everything is awful, people are terrible, they’ve rationed the peppers. There are very few working authors that have... More
This is a well written very interesting read. Jolly, historical, informative and easy to dip in and out of when travelling. Thoroughly recommend.
I really enjoyed this book. I have always enjoyed Church architecture and history without being particularly religious. This book is well written and I learned something fascinating in every chapter. A history of... More
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