'National cathedral, coronation church, royal mausoleum, burial place of poets, resting place of the great and of the Unknown Warrior, former home of the parliament, backdrop to royal weddings ... Westminster Abbey unites many functions. Richard Jenkyns' book is an ideal introduction to a building often taken for granted. The style is agreeable, the judgments intelligent and the perspective humane.' Spectator
'I have gained a new appreciation even of the sepulchre architecture from the wonderful new book by Richard Jenkyns. It is called Westminster Abbey and the author is Oxford's Professor of the Classical Tradition, whatever that is. If Dr Jenkyns is an example of it, I'm all for it.' Daily Telegraph
'Jenkyns writes beautifully, and with keen perception, of a great church whose significance has grown in the past two centuries as the proper home, not just for coronations, but for national commemorations ... the book is a pleasure to read and laced with wit ... Jenkyns achieves that rare thing: he combines a shrewd scholar's eye with affection' Church Times
