An Advent Book of Days

Author Gregory Cameron
Publisher Canterbury Press £9.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781786222688

This book of reflections for Advent by the Bishop of St Asaph will be a wonderful companion during the busy days in the run-up to Christmas. Based on the medieval books of hours, there is a chapter for each day of December leading up to the 25th. Drawing on the Bible, history and legend, the author gives us a comprehensive and informative overview of the facts and stories which are associated with the birth of Jesus. Each chapter takes as its theme a character, symbol or place, from the Virgin Mary and the Angel Gabriel to the ox and ass and the little drummer boy. Familiar and less well-known topics are explored in the light of tradition, underpinned with fact and anecdote drawn from a rich variety of sources. The last section of each chapter is a spiritual reflection ending with a prayer. Gregory Cameron is also a skilled artist and iconographer. Each day’s reading is headed with one of his own illustrations adapted from famous works of art: his descriptions of the original paintings add an extra dimension to the narrative. The text also exists as an e-book but to read it online would be to lose the charm of the printed edition which is of high quality. I thoroughly recommend this book for the writer’s ability to inform, entertain and inspire.

Reviewed by LAURA HILLMAN

Advent