Heresy

Heresy is a brilliant book - sometimes frightening, occasionally funny, frequently unsettling and always a thrill to read. It probes painfully into the pathology of belief. * The Times * Enthralling . . . Heresy illuminates a forgotten world - and it's an absolute pleasure to read. * The Sunday Telegraph * From Herod as the Messiah to a virginity test for Mary – the Christian story, but not as you know it . . . Enthralling * The Guardian * An accomplished journalist, [Nixey] tackles her subject with wit and verve – indeed, with considerable cheek – and an excellent command of mise en scène. -- Literary Review How on earth could an ancient Greek word meaning 'choice' come to be used exclusively negatively to mean heresy? Catherine Nixey, expert in the darkening age of Late Antique religiosity, has all the answers, brilliantly resurrecting a teeming plurality of non-canonical, non-orthodox, and above all allegedly non-Christian ideas and practices with cool intellectual clarity and vivid literary skill. -- Paul Cartledge, author of <i>The Spartans</i> and <i>Thermopylae</i>