The story of how Europe was converted to Christianity from 300AD until the barbarian Lithuanians finally capitulated at the astonishingly late date of 1386. It is an epic tale from one of the most gifted historians of today.

This remarkable book examines the conversion of Europe to the Christian faith in the period following the collapse of the Roman Empire, to approximately 1300 when the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire was firmly established.

Like Alan Bullock and Simon Schama, Fletcher is a historian with the true gift of a storyteller and a wide general readership ahead of him.

Fletcher’s previous book, The Quest for El Cid, won both the Wolfson History Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award for History. This book is even better – the most impressive achievement so far of this strikingly gifted historian.

‘An absorbing account of the most important event in the history of Europe: its conversion to Christianity… Richard Fletcher is a stylist of distinction, not merely in the sense that like Gibbon he is master of the memorable sentence, but in the historian’s task of weaving the particular instance into the web of a compelling narrative.’
Raymond Carr, Spectator

‘A vivid and thought-provoking book.’
Keith Thomas, The Times

‘Fletcher tells the story clearly and with enthusiasm… the book is very readable. It is an achievement to produce an intelligent and accurate survey of the expansion of Christianity within Europe over a period of a thousand years.’
Robert Bartlett, Literary Review

Richard Fletcher is renowned as one of Britain’s most engaging and witty historians. His previous books include Moorish Spain and The Quest for El Cid, which won the Wolfson Prize for History and the Los Angeles Times Book Award. He teaches history at the University of York.