In 2019 Melvyn Bragg, in a Sunday Times interview with Bryan Appleyard, described being at a family christening when the priest asked everyone to join in the Lord’s Prayer. Bragg realised he was the only one who knew the words. “We have lost it Bryan, in two generations“ said Bragg, “not just the faith but the narratives that go with it”

As the son of a clergyman who grew up in rural north Suffolk in the 1950s Andrew Hayward realised that Bragg spoke the truth. Indeed, the church attendance figures prove it. This book is not just about the loss of faith but what then happened to society in its absence. How it affected education, culture and indeed life itself. The age of deference was dead.

The author took four years to write this book and happily, as a Christian, post covid has seen numerous signs of revival. Long may that continue.