Chosen as a Guardian Book of 2014
Catherine Fox was educated at Durham and London Universities and has a degree in English and a PhD in Theology. She is the author of four adult novels, Angels and Men, The Benefits of Passion, Love for the Lost and Unseen Things Above, which explore the themes of the spiritual and the physical with insight and humour. In 2007, Yellow Jersey Press published Fight the Good Fight: From Vicar's Wife to Killing Machine in which Catherine relates her quest to achieve a black belt in Judo. Her first teen fantasy novel, WolfTide, came out in 2013. She teaches at Manchester Metropolitan University and lives in Liverpool, where her husband is dean of the cathedral.
The novel brims with wit and heart, acknowledging the awkwardness
and consolations of Anglicanism in the twenty-first century. Hugely
entertaining and highly recommended.
*Richard Beard, author of Lazarus is Dead*
This is a funny, affectionate, and devastatingly accurate portrayal
of the Church of England today... in fact its literary heritage is
altogether impeccable.
...she brings a sharp and exceptionally well-informed eye to bear
on the foibles of the C of E...
The plot is, however, driven by her wickedly observed characters ,
operating within a framework that will be immediately familiar to
Anglican readers, but whose mysteries are skilfully explained for
others.
Her setting, in the cathedral city of Lindchester, is a world that
is both fictional and familiar. Her narrative incorporates snatches
of favourite hymns; unexpected theological revelations catch at the
back of the throat as they bring a bible passage movingly to
life.
Underlying the racy and eminently plausible storyline, however, is
a profound exploration of the big themes of judgement and mercy;
above all, of love.
*Church Times*
Janet Beer, vice-chancellor, University of Liverpool, has some
seasonal advice for readers. "Unsure what to buy the Trollope
devotee in your life for Christmas? Look no further than Catherine
Fox’s Acts and Omissions (SPCK, 2014) and Unseen Things Above
(Marylebone House, 2015) for a refresher course not only in
cathedral politics, but also a set of profound, although lightly
drawn, insights into the contemporary Anglican communion. This is
not pastiche: Fox’s voice is not Trollope’s, it is her own – witty,
meddling, compassionate – and in this last regard she most
resembles her predecessor. The men and women of the church in Fox’s
world go about their professional and personal lives much as the
rest of us do. They are susceptible to temptation, and to the odd
bit of inappropriate behaviour, but in the main their stories are
compelling because the ethical dilemmas that afflict us all from
time to time are their daily bread but exotic fare for most
readers.
*The Times Higher Education*
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