Holy Fire

Every Easter the `miracle' of the Holy Fire is enacted in front of hundreds of the faithful in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Most Easters it is, too, the object of tension and in-fighting, and during her travels to Jerusalem Victoria Clark explores the place that the ceremony holds at the heart of centuries of wider Christian power struggles. Deftly weaving history, reportage and religion into a persuasive and fluid account, Holy Fire confronts head-on the contribution that the Christian world has made to the unfolding tragedy of the Holy Land - at a time when it has never been more urgent for the West to see itself as others see it.

'The story of how things became so complicated is a fascinating one that Clark tells extremely well. From the pilgrimage of the Byzantine Empress Helena in 326AD to the less devout visitations of the Crusaders, we are treated to the long story of Christian devotion and powerplay in the Holy Land . . . well observed and freshly written' Sunday Times

'Brings 2,000 years of history vividly alive' Peter Stanford