‘A timely and uplifting book... An hugely enjoyable if slightly eccentric account of clerical heroism in the face of evil... [Butler-Gallie] achieves an inspiring effect through the sheer cumulative impact of so many brave decisions.’
‘Here the Reverend Butler-Gallie wittily profiles 15 “loose cannons” who stood up against fascism’.
‘This winter’s best title is Fergus Butler-Gallie’s work on wartime heroics by the clergy.’
5* review: ‘a joyful and funny book, about some fascinating, brave and at times eccentric characters, who did what was right because it was right, regardless of the potential personal cost... I was left wanting to know more about all of them.’
‘Fascinating...full of stories you may not know but which need to be heard’
BOOKS OF THE YEAR Spectator
‘Butler-Gallie serves them and their stories well with background information, a fluent narrative style, and a fine eye for the quirky and telling personal or historical detail.’
‘... it is refreshing to read an unashamedly admiring study of priests and ministers who have put their lives on the line... readable and moving.'
'As entertaining as it is erudite, this enthralling anthology presents a cornucopia of quirky, courageous Fascist-fighting clerics.'
‘Deserves a wide readership. It could be argued that it took allegiance to a higher power than secular Messiahs to support resistance to the most hateful regimes of the 20th Century.’
Church of England Newspaper
‘The history of Christianity during World War II is not pretty, as many leading Church figures collaborated with the Nazis and gave succour to anti-Semitism. A handful of religious people stood tall and met the challenge – the little-known men and women vividly described in these fascinating pages opposed both fascism and religious authority to fight the true good fight. If only there had been more like them!’
Praise for A Field Guide to the English Clergy : The Times , Books of the Year 2018Sebastian Shakespeare, Daily Mail The Times Literary Review New Statesman Harry Mount, Spectator Sunday Times The Catholic Herald Tom Holland The Rt Revd David Wilbourne
’15 short, engaging essays... The reverend is a good writer with a light touch, and a natural storyteller.’
‘... this book is a gripping story of bravery, derring-do and cunning in the face of Fascism... vividly told tales of 15 people who became caught up in the struggles against Fascism in Europe in the 1930s’
‘A fascinating and entirely benign book, imbued with a surprisingly muscular Christianity and full of stories you may not know but which need to be heard’
Spectator BOOKS OF THE YEAR
‘A field guide to 20th-century priests, monks and nuns from all over the world who were prepared to die for their faith and to die saving others... He proves it true that comedy and tragedy run side by side, and that some of the most unlikely people turn out to be saints and martyrs... Bracing and lively.’
