Allison M's Reviews > Four Birds of Noah's Ark: A Prayer Book from the Time of Shakespeare

This book of prayers was written over 400 years ago by playwright Thomas Dekker and edited for this new edition by Robert Hudson. The editor has modernised some of the language and aimed for clarity, as he explains towards the end of his fascinating introduction to the book.

The prayers are timeless and written with directness, sincere faith and beauty. They are organised into different sections: the dove contains prayers for the humble and poor; the eagle for leaders and the wealthy; the pelican has prayers against the seven deadly sins; and the phoenix is concerned with thanksgiving, in response to Christ's death and resurrection. (The other birds are obvious enough but I did not know that the pelican was believed to sustain its young with its own blood.) The book ends with short quotes for meditation, by Augustine, Jerome etc.

This is an excellent book in its own right: these are prayers I shall want to read over and again. It is also a book that excites the desire to know more: I had not even heard of Dekker so now I want to know more about his life and his works, and I am very keen to see the 1924 edition of this book of prayers, as mentioned in the book's introduction. I shall also be looking out for more by Robert Hudson.

I warmly recommend this book, and I am very grateful to NetGalley and the publisher (William B Eerdmans Publishing Co) for letting me read this ebook free in return for an honest review.