This is a well-written and at times very informative book, in which Francis Young provides an overview of the history of Edmund of East Anglia (d. 869) and his cult from the ninth century and into the modern period. It comprises an introduction, five main chapters and a conclusion. Chapters i–ii cover Edmund's lifetime, chapter iii the period 869–1066, chapter iv the period 1066–1536, and chapter v the period from 1536 onwards. The book has several unquestionable qualities, yet it also has several equally unquestionable problems. The figure of St Edmund and his cult have both been objects of meticulous study for several generations of scholars, but there is always something new to be said about him. Given this scholarly tradition, however, it is necessary to examine both how the book engages with previous scholarship as well as how it brings something new to the table.

The primary purpose of the book, as explained in the introduction (p. 14), is to present an argument for the hypothesis that the body of St Edmund was concealed on the abbey grounds of Bury St Edmunds during the Dissolution. The author does so very convincingly. This hypothesis is explored in chapter v and the conclusion. In his argument, the author has made use of documents from the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, which to my knowledge have not yet been introduced into the scholarly discussion about St Edmund. These sources are of great interest as they shed light on how the cult of St Edmund was maintained on the Continent by English Catholics in exile. Consequently, through his argument about St Edmund's current whereabouts, the author has done an excellent job of including new primary sources and also bridging the unnecessary divide between medieval and modern studies. Similarly, by providing examples of how Edmund has piqued interest in more recent centuries, the author also reminds us of the saint's enduring importance to local and national identities. In these ways, chapter v contains the book's single most important contribution to the academic community, and the author is to be lauded for it.

Despite this, however, there are certain aspects of the book that are problematic and which need to be addressed here. This will not be an exhaustive catalogue of the book's various errors and the desiderata that they create, but merely a sample of those which are the most noteworthy.

Firstly, while the broad chronological scope of the book has its very positive consequences, this also presents a challenge to the author when he moves beyond his immediate period of expertise, which, judging from his recent bibliographical output, appears to be the early modern period. For this reason, in the first three chapters of the book as well as the part of chapter iv which covers the period before 1400, the author relies mostly on existing scholarship. This in itself is not a point of criticism, because in such cases this is exactly what needs to be done. However, for some details the author seems unaware of recent and important scholarship. This is especially clear when he touches on the liturgical material for Edmund's feast at the beginning of chapter iv. The author wrongly attributes the oldest surviving liturgy for Edmund to Abbot Garnier of Rebais who visited Bury in 1087 (p.111), even though studies contradict this (see especially Henry Parkes, ‘St Edmund between liturgy and hagiography’, in Tom Licence [ed.], Bury St Edmunds and the Norman Conquest, Woodbridge–Rochester, NY 2014, 131–59). Consequently, the author here provides an inaccurate depiction of the cult's historical trajectory and an important aspect of the cult's ritual dimension, i.e. the liturgical celebration. This is unfortunate because it obscures the wealth of eleventh-century liturgical material concerning St Edmund which is available to scholars.

Similarly, the author commits inaccuracies when describing the standing of Edmund in late medieval England, especially Richard ii’s devotion to Edmund. While Edmund was important to Richard, Edward the Confessor was even more important. This has been detailed by Katherine Lewis in her article ‘Becoming a virgin king’ (in Sam Riches and Sarah Salih [eds], Gender and holiness: men, women and saints in late medieval Europe, London 2002, 86–100), yet the author fails fully to acknowledge the Confessor's role during Richard's reign. This is problematic because the late fourteenth century was a period when Edmund and Edward increasingly were presented together, and so the author's favouring of Edmund gives the reader the wrong impression of his importance in this period.

Another problematic aspect is the author's reference to Edmund as the embodiment of Englishness. This is part of a minor argument about Edmund's potential role in contemporary England, but it appears throughout the book. Unfortunately, the author does not set down from the beginning how the term Englishness is to be understood, or what it has meant at various points in England's tumultuous history. Thus the argument does not go anywhere and rests on emotion rather than a scholarly discussion.

There are further errors and shortcomings to be found, but the three highlighted here should suffice to point to both methodological and factual flaws that compromise the overall quality of the book. These flaws do not in any way detract from the book's valuable contribution in chapter v, but they do mean that this book is not – even though it appears to be – a comprehensive study of the cult of Edmund. It is therefore best suited for readers who are already familiar with the subject. The book does not shed any new light on the historical Edmund or the trajectory of the medieval cult – these aspects have all been covered more comprehensively by previous scholars. It does, however, widen the chronological scope of the study of Edmund and it also brings exciting new sources to the table, and for these reasons alone it is a welcome addition to the ever-expanding library of scholarship on St Edmund.