<p><b>An ambitious, authoritative history of the Roman Catholic Church in the modern age.</b></p><p>Despite its many crises, especially in Western Europe, there are still 1.2 billion Catholics in the world and the Church remains a powerful, controversial and defiantly archaic institution.</p><p>After the French Revolution and the democratic rebellions of 1848, the Church retreated, especially under Pius IX, into a fortress of unreason, denouncing almost every aspect of modern life, including liberalism and socialism. The pope proclaimed his infallibility; the cult of the Virgin Mary and her apparitions to semi-illiterate shepherds became articles of faith; the Vatican refused all accommodation with the modern state, until a disastrous series of concordats with fascist states in the 1930s.</p><p>In <i>Losing a Kingdom, Gaining the World</i>, Dr Ambrogio Caiani narrates the epic, fascinating, entertaining and horrifying history of the Roman Catholic Church. It is an account of the Church's fraught encounter with modernity in all its forms, from representative democracy and the nation state to science, literature and secular culture.</p>
<p>An authoritative history of the Roman Catholic Church in the modern age.</p>
<b>PRAISE FOR AMBROGIO CAIANI</b>: <br />
'In gripping, vivid prose, Caiani brings to life the struggle for power that would shape modern Europe... A historical read which is both original and enjoyable' Antonia Fraser. <br />
'Caiani relates this dramatic story in telling detail but never loses sight of the broader picture, and uses his archival discoveries to excellent effect... The result is both an exciting narrative and a fine work of scholarship' Literary Review. <br />
'A riveting and compelling account of how the soft power of the Pope proved more durable than the military might of Napoleon' Tim Blanning. <br />
'Caiani leads the reader expertly through diplomatic and theological disputes, a dynastic marriage, international relations and war... He handles this complex narrative deftly' TLS. <br />
'Tells the story of an epic struggle'
Financial Times
<p>An epic subject that has been neglected by historians – there are few serious narrative histories of the Church on this scale.</p>
<p>MARKET: Tom Holland; Peter Frankopan; Mary Hollingsworth.</p>