This book covers Christianity in Britain from AD57 to 909 and beyond. It looks at the history and identity of the Celtic peoples of Britain, Ireland and continental Europe and how they embraced the Christian faith. Fay Sampson explores the growth and structure of the church whilst telling the stories of pioneering individuals such as Patrick, Brigid, Columba and David. She follows Rome’s gradual absorption of the British and Irish abbeys and traditions and the effects of settlement by Angles, Saxons and Jutes. A chapter on the Synod of Whitby summarises how a difference of opinion on tonsure styles and the date of Easter altered the course of church history; something of which any contemporary Christian reader would do well to be reminded. Sampson includes an index, timeline, maps and a list of further reading. Some footnotes and references would have been helpful. This is a fascinating and informative book. Charlotte Hails, reviewer for Christian Marketplace