The Book of Prophecy : From Ancient Greece to the Millennium (The Geoffrey Ashe Histories)

The fall of Troy… the birth of Christ… the downfall of the Soviet Union… Throughout history predictions have been made about the future.

From priests and stargazers, the oracles at Delphi and modern attempts to find the future in dreams and horoscopes, prophets and their predictions have intrigued, amazed and disturbed humankind.

The Book of Prophecy gives fresh insight into biblical prophecy, into prophetic elements in the works of Dante and Milton, and into Merlin’s so-called prophecies and the ‘return’ of King Arthur. Geoffrey Ashe also looks at Nostradamus, clearing away the extravagant claims of some of his interpreters and scrutinising his genuinely impressive predictions.

Highly readable and wide-ranging, this fascinating account is the definitive work on the much-debated and controversial subject of prophecy.

Geoffrey Ashe was born in London and lived for some years in Canada, where he attended the University of British Columbia. Returning to England, he studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took a First in the English Tripos and was awarded an essay prize by the historian G.M. Trevelyan, at that time Master of the college. Most of his numerous books are on historical and mythological topics, especially the Arthurian legend, and he was secretary of the committee that excavated Cadbury Castle, the reputed original of Camelot. He has held visiting professorships at several American and Canadian universities. He lives in Glastonbury, a focal point of British legend.