Stephen Bates
Altar Ego
Fathomless Riches: Or How I Went from Pop to Pulpit
By Richard Coles
Weidenfeld & Nicolson 278pp £20 order from our bookshop
The Reverend Richard Coles is possibly the best-known and probably the best-liked cleric in the Church of England these days, more celebrated than any bishop and maybe even more admired than the Archbishop of Canterbury himself as a result of his broadcasting activities. At the start of every weekend he chirrups up on Radio 4’s Saturday Live, always introduced by his title – he has no reticence about it – his voice warm and mellow, instantly friendly, empathetic and wryly, self-deprecatingly witty, as any good vicar should be.
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