The Book in the Cathedral

Readers will delight in de Hamel’s passion for his subject, his book’s sumptuous illustrations, and above all his virtuoso display of learning – John Guy * Literary Review *De Hamel - author of the wonderful Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts - shows us all the tools of the bibliographer’s trade: dating handwriting, identifying pigments, noting the rust marks left by nails from a now-lost ornate binding … The identification - or rehabilitation - of his psalter, the book he carried with him into exile, possibly held at his death, is a timely and enjoyable tribute. – Dennis Duncan * The Guardian *Christopher de Hamel quotes Sherlock Holmes, as he might, in his latest bit of medieval detective work, showing that a book of the Psalms in a Cambridge college was once a treasured possession of St Thomas Becket … grippingly told in The Book in the Cathedral. – Christopher Howse * Daily Telegraph *

Christopher de Hamel has enjoyed a long career at Sotheby’s and Cambridge University. He has likely handled more medieval manuscripts than anyone alive, and his delight and enthusiasm for them infuse all his writing. His many books, translated into numerous languages, include:

• A History of Illuminated Manuscripts
• Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts (winner of the Duff Cooper Prize and the Wolfson History Prize)
• The Book in the Cathedral—The Last Relic of Thomas Becket
• The Posthumous Papers of the Manuscripts Club

He is a Life Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and lives in London.