There are many sound histories of the Reformation in the old style with its preference for ideas and theologians.

This new book by Professor Eric Ives take a new approach and shows how the Reformation came to the individual Christian and what it meant. Ives analyses whether (and why) Reformation teaching was accepted or not, and looks at how it changed lives - with particular reference to the parish church, belief and commitment.

The author focuses largely on Britain but does not ignore European experience, and in the second part of the book looks at questions such as: why was there a reformation? How did it happen? What did it achieve? and does it matter?