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The Sign
The Sign
Oct 10, 2024 3:23 PM

Author:Thomas de Wesselow

The Sign

The Signby Thomas de Wesselow finally solves Christianity's greatest mystery

'The thinking man's Dan Brown' Sunday Times

How did Christianity really begin?

In this powerful and controversial book, art historian Thomas de Wesselow reveals that the answer to this puzzle lies in one of the most mysterious images in the world - the Shroud of Turin.

Re-examining the Shroud and New Testament texts, he argues that the traditional Christian view - that the apostles were inspired by seeing Jesus raised from the dead - is a profound misconception.

Using scientific, archaeological and historical evidence, The Sign demonstrates that the Shroud is the actual burial-cloth of Jesus. That haunting image - which is a natural stain - holds the key to the greatest mystery in human history.

This astonishing book will appeal to readers around the world and is a must for fans of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, Inferno by Dan Brown and Diarmaid MacCulloch's A History of Christianity.

'Very intriguing' Mail on Sunday

'A fascinating account of the Shroud as an image' BBC History Magazine

'Thorough, well-researched and fair-minded. Persuasive... much more than just an addition to the canon of Shroud literature' Irish Times

Thomas de Wesselow earned his MA and PhD at London's Courtauld Institute, researching the controversial Guidoriccio fresco in Siena, before becoming a Scholar at the British School in Rome where he worked on another of the great mysteries of Italian art history, the Assisi Problem. He has written on a number of famous Renaissance pictures whose meanings have hitherto defied analysis, including Botticelli's Primavera and Titian's Sacred and Profane Love. Since 2007 he has been researching this book full-time. He is 40 years old and he lives in Cambridge.

Reviews

A fresh insight into the Easter story

—— Financial Times

Overturning 2,000 years of received biblical wisdom is no small matter. Consequently [this] book encompasses an impressive amount of scholarship and scientific examination. Persuasive... a very intriguing explanation

—— Michael Prodger , Mail on Sunday

Thorough, well-researched and fair-minded... Persuasive... much more than just an addition to the canon of Shroud literature

—— Irish Times

Fascinating...startling

—— Telegraph

A melancholic peregrination through Liverpool and its history . . . the book distills a history of the slave trade, migration and the development of the port, establishing Liverpool's peculiar character via familiar themes: football, sectarianism, music, dialect, violence, dockers and the Militant tendency

—— The Times Literary Supplement

A powerful and personal take on the city

—— Liverpool Daily Post

A valuable and informative read

—— Morning Star

For those wanting a more grown-up experience of the Tudor past, there are few better places to start the Leanda de Lisle’s new study. Many have told this story before. What makes de Lisle’s account so fresh is her decision to start her “family story” not in 1485… but three generations earlier… Rarely has [this] story been told as well as here

—— John Adamson , Mail on Sunday

Her compellingly written book not only illuminates obscure family members... but also provides fresh perspectives on some of the most familiar figures in our history... a work that elegantly combines wide-ranging research with fluent narrative

—— Nick Rennison , Sunday Times (Culture)

De Lisle’s masterful command of the facts – great and small – provides a complete and entertaining overview

—— Giles Tremlett , Observer

A vibrant reappraisal of this turbulent family saga

—— Anne Somerset , Spectator

Full of subtle revelations and fascinating detail... fine storytelling and thought-provoking analysis

—— Linda Porter , Literary Review

It is…greatly to the credit of Leanda de Lisle that her new book on the Tudors as a family is so admirably balanced and accomplished, and full of subtle revelations and fascinating detail. The familiar faces are all here but their story is told with new insights… Fine storytelling and thought-provoking analysis

—— Linda Porter , Literary Review

[An] illuminating portrait of our most famous royal family

—— Sunday Times

Highly readable but no less scholarly

—— Lesley McDowell , Independent on Sunday

Wonderful, passionate, dangerous, fascinating stuff. I couldn't put it down

—— Julian Fellowes

Leanda de Lisle has the gift of reminding us that history is the story of real people; real men, real women, full of rage and ambitionand lust and hope and love. The Tudors are already our most vivid dynasty, by quite a long chalk, but these pages render them more vivid still. This was an age when the game was worth the candle, when a chance remark could result in a crown or the axe. Wonderful, passionate, dangerous, fascinating stuff. I couldn't put it down

—— Julian Fellowes

This fresh take on the Tudor dynasty is history at its best... an engaging and well-sourced account, sprinkled with provocative anecdotes that will appeal to both scholars and general readers... This compelling tale is driven by three-dimensional people and relationships, and de Lisle does a fantastic job of making them feel lived and dramatic

—— Publishers Weekly

Reveals an entirely new perspective on one of England's most fascinating dynasties

—— Mary Lussiana , Country & Town House

A very lucid, entertaining and excellent read

—— Suzannah Lipscomb , History Today

A thrilling, intelligent and fresh royal history that sweeps from the family’s unlikely beginnings in the 1420s to their apotheosis under Elizabeth

—— Dan Jones , Telegraph

The compelling story of the Tudors is vividly brought to life in de Lisle's narrative

—— Discover Britain

This should now be the go-to book for those looking for a broad understanding of the Tudors

—— Chris Skidmore , BBC History Magazine

De Lisle's energy and stamina in this vast operation are truly impressive. What is more, she tells an often thrilling story with great dexterity... Altogether, this remarkable achievement puts de Lisle firmly in the front rank of popular historians of the period

—— John Jolliffe , Catholic Herald

Unlike many books that claim to tell the story of the Tudors, but focus mainly on four characters (namely Henry VIII and his three children who all ruled England after him), this excellent book includes so many members of the Tudor family who may not always be forgotten, but are often sidelined

—— Good Book Guide
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