Abstract
The subtitle of this book—A Biography—gives readers an initial indication that this is not a typical study of a liturgical document. During the 450 years since the first Book of Common Prayer (BCP) was authorized in 1549, the sheer quantity of literature that it has generated is astounding. Even if we put aside the various editions that have emerged in the 30-plus provinces of the Anglican Communion, the scope of that literature has included not only commentaries but also a wide range of apologetical writings that analyze the texts and rubrics of these editions in minute detail, often from very different points of view.
By adding the subtitle, Jacobs has indicated a kind of personalization in his approach to the subject. The book does not present readers merely with data about the origins and development of the BCP, but rather places its entire story within a human framework among the people—monarchs and prelates, ordinary people, and their parish priests—whose lives shaped the context in which the prayer book developed.
J. has woven together an extraordinary array of historical details, a tapestry of both well-known facts and auxiliary insights that illuminate the human circumstances out of which a particular version of the BCP emerged. The historical material, though abundant, never overwhelms the book’s narrative flow. J. has focused the text generally by placing complementary historical data in valuable notes that no reader should overlook. This book is an important contribution to prayer-book literature.