After the crucifixion, Jesus's followers - now led by his brother, James the Just - remained devout Jews, vigorously opposed to the Roman occupiers. But a rival faction emerged, via the charismatic itinerant Paul of Tarsus. Some called him Saint, some called him a liar, but Paul began telling the stories that would transform a small sect of Judaism into a world religion.

In The Tongues of Men or Angels Jonathan Trigell shows the night sky of Biblical-era Galilee lit, not by guiding stars, but by flames of terror. He shows contested soil, on which miracles were performed and battles raged. He shows men of flesh and of blood, by turns loving and brutal. In so doing, he unseals a tale of the ages. The Tongues of Men or Angels is a dazzling act of imagination and learning.