Selling the Church

“Absolutely authoritative and indispensable. . . . Much of what Palmer says is new and significant. . . . This book is part of a welcome trend directing attention back to the early years of the English Reformation.” — Times Literary Supplement

“An important contribution to the lively field of parish studies.” — Ecclesiastical History

“This is an innovative and impressive study of the application of common and statute law to ecclesiastical affairs, and the argument is illustrated by a multitude of fascinating examples.” — Albion

“Palmer lays out a series of provocative arguments in a clear, concise fashion. . . . Palmer’s book is a tour de force, bold in its claims, thought-provoking in its analysis, painstakingly researched, and compellingly argued. . . . No one who reads it will come away with their opinions of the English Reformation unchanged." — Anglican Theological Review

“Robert Palmer advances a brilliant, if controversial, thesis about the origins of the English Reformation that will transform the debate and make a lasting impact on the historiography. A genuine tour de force.” — John Guy, University of St. Andrews

“There is much in this book that is interesting, innovative, and almost certainly right. Leasing of parishes in late medieval and early reformation England has not been the subject of any full-scale study. Palmer has done it, and a fine study it is.” — Charles Donahue Jr., Harvard Law School