David Adam has been captivated by the beauty, wonder and holiness of Lindisfarne since first glimpsing its fairytale castle from the train as a young boy. In this absorbing volume, he shows the island’s human face, revealing how Lindisfarne and its people have responded to trial, tribulation and triumph in the course of a long and vibrant history.

This tiny place witnessed one of the last stands of the ‘British’ Celtic peoples against the invading Anglo-Saxons in the sixth century. It has been the home of saints and scholars, most notably St Aidan and St Cuthbert, and famously produced the medieval masterpiece known as the Lindisfarne Gospels. Less familiar to readers, perhaps, will be that the island experienced the first recorded Viking invasion in 793, and was involved in the seventeenth century Civil War and the eighteenth century Jacobite Rebellion. Today its Priory and Castle draw pilgrims and visitors from all over the world.