Michael Yelton

"It was [Fr Beresford's] custom, certainly in later years, to remove his maniple whenever he was required to use a part of the 1662 Prayer Book or any other Anglican liturgical usage or even if he was present when these were said." if this sentence leaves you cold, this is not the book for you. But if you find it, as I did, a gem to recount to like-minded friends everywhere for a guaranteed laugh, you must read Outposts of the Faith. Of course it is a serious and carefully researched account of pioneers of the Anglo-Catholic movement in rural English parishes. There is no tendentious agenda. But with names like Detmar Blow, Featonby Jobson Smith, and Fr Oscar Wade Wilde to play with, a roster of interesting characters to describe (another favourite sentence is "In the meantime, Athelstan and the Hon Andalusia Riley were proving that, although they spent relatively little time together because of the many internal and external journeys made by him, they were together often enough to create a large family."), and an eye for the details of liturgy and church decor which reveal everything to the initiated, Yelton creates a wonderfully rich and entertaining series of portraits. I have immediately ordered all his other books.… (mais)