The “book of Common Prayer”: A Biography

How The Book of Common Prayer became one of the most influential works in the English language

While many of us are familiar with such famous words as “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here. . .” or “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” we may not know that they originated in The Book of Common Prayer, which first appeared in 1549. Like the words of the King James Bible and Shakespeare, the language of this prayer book has saturated English culture and letters. Here Alan Jacobs tells its story. He shows how The Book of Common Prayer–from its beginnings as a means of social and political control in the England of Henry VIII to its worldwide presence today–became a venerable work whose cadences express the heart of religious life for millions.

Author: Alan Jacobs
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 05/28/2019
Series: Lives of Great Religious Books #2
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.6lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780691191782
Language: English