The Keys and the Kingdom

[A] scholarly but always readable book. 5* * The Daily Telegraph *
Genuinely illuminating. * Times Literary Supplement *
[Catherine Pepinster] has produced a worthy account of this remarkable shift for Bloomsbury's academic arm ... More journalistic than pedagogic, though none the worse for that. * Literary Review *
Pepinster’s chosen method gives her book a directness that makes for engaged reading. Her excellent account is especially interesting on the political and diplomatic aspects. I wish that it were longer. * Church Times *
Pepinster’s vast experience as a journalist is displayed brilliantly as she uncovers the intriguing ways that Catholics have influenced public life in the UK and the mutual reciprocity between the papacy and the Crown over the past four decades … Readers interested in the history of UK-Vatican political relations and foreign policy will enjoy this very accessible and informative book. * The Expository Times *
This is a fluent, thoughtful and meticulous account of where the Catholic Church touches home politics, foreign policy and Vatican diplomacy in recent UK history. Catherine Pepinster draws on a rich seam of written and oral archives which she has mined with skill and verve. * Lord Peter Hennessy, Queen Mary, University of London, UK *
A highly informed and eminently readable insider account of the complex relationship between Britain and the papacy over the last thirty years. Essential reading for those seeking to understand modern Britain's changing religious landscape, and especially valuable in its survey case studies of post-conciliar Anglican-Catholic ecumenism, the Troubles and the papal visits of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. * Alana Harris, King’s College London, UK *
An insightful study of how the personality of the pope – from the authoritarian charisma of John Paul II, through the scholarly rationalism of Benedict XVI to the reforming pastoral openness of Pope Francis – has influenced relations between the British government and the Catholic Church. It is studded with disclosures on the ambiguous role of the church in the Irish peace process and the resurgence of Scottish nationalism. And it reveals that Rome sees the church in the UK as a laboratory in which to test out how the Church globally can operate in an increasingly secular society. * Paul Vallely, papal biographer and author of Pope Francis: the Struggle for the Soul of Catholicism *
Pepinster has written a compelling account of the interplay between the papacy and the UK. In doing so she brilliantly makes sense of the complex changing role of Catholicism in modern Britain, and the way British politicians have dealt with the Vatican. There are fresh insights on every page. * Steve Richards, political commentator and author of The Rise of the Outsiders *