A glorious illustrated history of sixteen of the world's greatest cathedrals, interwoven with the extraordinary stories of the people who built them.
'An impeccable guide to the golden age of ecclesiastical architecture' The Times
'Vivid, colourful and absorbing' Dan Jones
'An epic ode to some of our most beautiful and beloved buildings' Helen Carr

A glorious history of sixteen of the world's greatest cathedrals, interwoven with the extraordinary stories of the people who built them.
The emergence of the Gothic style in twelfth-century France, characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, flying buttresses and large windows, forms the central core of Emma Wells's authoritative but accessible study of the golden age of the cathedral. More than architectural biographies, these are human stories of triumph and tragedy that take the reader from the chaotic atmosphere of the mason's yard to the cloisters of power. Together, they reveal how 1000 years of cathedral-building shaped modern Europe, and influenced art, culture and society around the world.

Dr Emma J. Wells is an award-winning academic, author and broadcaster. She is Lecturer in Ecclesiastical and Architectural History at the University of York. She holds a PhD from Durham University, for which she was awarded a British Archaeological Association Ochs Scholarship and a Society for Church Archaeology research grant. Emma is also a regular contributor to television and radio, and writes for publications including BBC Countryfile, TLS, BBC History and History Today. Her previous book, Pilgrim Routes of the British Isles, was published in 2016.