The defeat of Germany in World War I, and the seizure of its colonial territories by the victors, did not mean a simple transfer of the subordination of her African subjects from one imperial or colonial power to another. In Cameroon, where Germany ceded its territory to the French, the period also meant a dramatic transformation of the African family and domestic sphere, and a redefinition of traditional marriage. By the turn of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries both Catholic and Protestant Christianity had been firmly implanted in southern Cameroon with large followings. This book explores the ways in which Christian marriage evolved and spread in French Cameroon during the interwar period; it examines how the changes and transition process were mediated and managed by local African clergymen, showing that for the African faithful who now experienced different forms of power, the period came with new pressures and challenges but also some opportunities. The book analyses the socio-political context that shaped the converts’ collective experience but also is careful to historicise the reactions of individual Christians to the dislocation and rupture brought about by conversion. Drawing on an analysis of the colonial archive, mission diaries and letters, combined with oral interviews, the author uses marriage as a prism through which to examine Christian conversion, arguing that spiritual inspiration and political subordination reinforced the practice of Christian marriage. If marriage was key to determining a model Christian, it was because it served as a singular action and manner of living that expresses belief (p. 5). The new obligations and requirements that came with conversion changed the nature of interpersonal ties, often dislodging pre-existing kinship relations but they also helped forge new forms of affiliations (p. 283) that helped mitigate the imperatives of colonialism; for Christians, marriage was not just a symbol of virtuous behaviour, it was an economic stratagem for the very enterprising so that the claims and demands of those desiring it were often subjected to growing counterclaims and interference (p. 246). Catechists, for example, targeted those who disobeyed religious law, which compelled many converts to reconsider their roles, the significance, advantages and failings of their marriages and their relationships to their blood kin (p. 41). In the process, however, Christian women struggled against the control of their sexuality and bodies – a terrain over which the change and negotiation was fought. This is a carefully researched study that offers readers a wide range of theoretical and empirical insights into the intersection of social change, African agency and ecclesiastical history. Its major contributions lie in the very sophisticated gendered analysis that the author proffers, drawing on a diverse and rich empirical data to show how the African faithful refashioned their Christian obligations to meet local needs while containing the impact of colonialism, and the geopolitics of the interwar era. Scholars of canon law, as well as historians of gender and African social history more generally will have a lot to cheer about in this book.