Book of Common Prayer

This book examines the history of the various liturgical books used in public worship in England, from their origins in apostolic times to the later stages of their development in the middle of the twentieth century and draws attention to the rich history of change underlying church liturgies.

The Book of Common Prayer is one of the most influential books in history. Brian Cummings tell its fascinating story, charting its spread from England to reach the world, and showing how the book has divided conformity from non-conformity, in social terms as well as religious, from birth to marriage to death.

This unique edition of the Book of Common Prayer includes the texts of three different versions, 1549, 1559, and 1662, to provide a panorama of the history of ritual in England from the Reformation to the present day. The first edition for the common reader, with full notes and introduction, this is one of the seminal texts of human experience.

A fascinating and highly original exploration of Shakespeare's great overlooked source, the Book of Common Prayer

An account of the rise and demise of a world classic, which still informs our common language as well as much of the great literature of the last four centuries.

An anthology of passages from English literature referring to the "Book of Common Prayer", interspersed with essays discussing the history of the "Prayer Book" itself, the place of music in Anglican worship and the shape of Morning and Evening Prayer.