Shaun Blanchard reflects on the ‘Very Short Introduction’ to Vatican II.
A few years ago, in those halcyon days before the pandemic, I sat down in an Oxfordshire pub with Stephen Bullivant to draft a prop-osal for a volume on Vatican II for OUP’s Very Short Introduction (VSI) series. Much of that day saw pitched battle between the angels and devils perched on our shoulders (the celestial took the form of unlimited esp-ressos; the diabolic, pints and fried chicken burgers). I am not English, though despite my best efforts and the fervent prayers of my Irish grandmother, I have become something of an Anglophile. I attribute this primarily to the unfettered joys of reading, writing and good conversations in English pubs. Stephen and I made good progress on our propos-al fairly quickly. We then turned to remin-iscing on the need for such a volume, and the importance of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) in our lives as academics, teachers, converts, and practising Catholics.
