The Book of Kells

by Victoria Whitworth

The Book of Kells is a mystery. It is distinct from all copies of the gospels from the early Middle Ages, not only in the quality and amount of its decoration but also in the peculiarities of the ordering of its contents, the oddness of its apparatus, the appearance of the script, the interplay of text and ornament, and the erratic forms of its Latin. Scholars cannot agree on the number of scribes and artists involved; or establish the purpose of the Book; or decide whether its oddities are the result of incompetence or carelessness, and how those oddities relate to the minutely careful and deeply meaningful art.

The Book of Kells is probably the most famous manuscript in the world – and Victoria Whitworth's masterly treatment offers something new.

336 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 2023

About the author

Victoria Whitworth is a historian and bestselling author of The Bone Thief and The Traitors' Pit. Having worked as a lecturer, tour guide, artist's model and teacher, she now lives on a smallholding in Orkney, where she writes full time.

She also wrote as V.M. Whitworth and Victoria Thompson.