In this new addition to Scala’s Director’s Choice series, Giles Mandelbrote offers a personal survey of Lambeth Palace Library’s history through a selection of treasured objects.

Founded in 1610, Lambeth Palace Library is the historic library of the Archbishops of Canterbury and houses the national archives of the Church of England. Dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing the Church’s cultural and religious heritage, the Library’s vast collection is accessible to all. In this engaging book, former Librarian and Archivist Giles Mandelbrote guides the reader through some of the Library’s greatest treasures, from the MacDurnan Gospels and the Lambeth Bible to the Lambeth copy of the Gutenberg Bible. He also reveals the dramatic story behind some 1,400 stolen books and manuscripts and introduces the Library’s stunning new purpose-built, eight-storey building.