Archbishop Sarah Mullally: A Biography

by Andrew Atherstone

Examining the formation of Dame Sarah Mullally's character and priorities, and the shaping of her Christian faith, this biography offers insight into what drives the first female Archbishop of Canterbury forward, and how she is likely to navigate the many debates raging across church and nation.

Archbishop Sarah A Biography is an authoritative study of the first woman to be Archbishop of Canterbury in Anglicanism's 1,400-year history. Engagingly written and expertly told, Atherstone's biography charts Dame Sarah's distinguished career and her rapid rise through the ranks of two of Britain's most important the National Health Service and the Church of England. In nursing, she rose from a student trainee to become the youngest ever Chief Nursing Officer in the Department of Health. In the Church, she began as a volunteer curate, rising through parish rectory and cathedral canonry to become the first female Bishop of London, and now the first female Archbishop. Her appointment is a defining moment not only for the Church of England but for international Christianity.

256 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication August 4, 2026

About the author

Andrew Atherstone is tutor in History and Doctrine, and Latimer research fellow, at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and has published widely on a number of Anglican personalities such as Charles Golightly (Oxford's Protestant Spy, Paternoster, 2007), and George Carey.

Reviews

[John Hayward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed getting to know the new Archbishop of Canterbury through Andrew Atherstone's biography, "Archbishop Sarah Mullally". His depth of research was especially evident in the early chapters, where I also felt I heard more of his voice as author. I liked Mullally's question that she says we should all ask of each other: "what can I do to enable your ministry to flourish?"