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A gripping account of how the early Christians viciously attacked the art and teachings of the Classical world from a brilliant young historian

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In The Darkening Age, Catherine Nixey tells the little-known - and deeply shocking - story of how a militant religion deliberately tried to extinguish the teachings of the Classical world, ushering in unquestioning adherence to the ´one true faith´.

The Roman Empire had been generous in embracing and absorbing new creeds. But with the coming of Christianity, everything changed. This new faith, despite preaching peace, was violent, ruthless and intolerant. And once it became the religion of empire, its zealous adherents set about the destruction of the old gods. Their altars were upturned, their temples demolished and their statues hacked to pieces. Books, including great works of philosophy and science, were consigned to the pyre. It was an annihilation.
A Book of the Year in the Daily Telegraph, the Spectator, the Observer, and BBC History Magazine
A New York Times Book Review Editors´ Choice
Winner of the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award for Nonfiction

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This book uncovers what was lost when Christianity won.... a delightful book about destruction and despair. Nixey combines the authority of a serious academic with the expressive style of a good journalist. She´s not afraid to throw in the odd joke amid sombre tales of desecration. With considerable courage, she challenges the wisdom of history and manages to prevail. Comfortable assumptions about Christian progress come tumbling down. The Times

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Nixey, Catherine
Catherine Nixey studied Classics at Cambridge and subsequently worked as a Classics teacher for several years, before becoming a journalist on the arts desk at The Times, where she still works. She lives in London with her husband.

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