This anthology draws upon about fifty books of hours made in England, or for use in England, which were either produced for women patrons or owned by women during the medieval period. Although some of the translations are taken from the core liturgical elements of the book of hours (for example, text 1, which includes Vespers and Compline from the Little Office of the Virgin), most are of the additional prayers and other devotions which accumulated around these core elements; these might vary considerably from book to book, and be modified to meet the needs of individual owners. The collection provides a useful companion volume to Eamon Duffy's recent work on English books of hours, Marking the hours: English people and their prayers, 1240–1570 (New Haven–London 2006), which investigates the same field of study but with a rather different focus. Both authors show a welcome interest in the texts of books of hours – which have tended in the past to be neglected in favour of their illustrations – and particularly in their modification over time; Scott-Stokes's anthology, with its three rather muddy black-and-white illustrations, perhaps goes too far in the opposite direction, but it is usefully supplemented by the colour images in Duffy's handsomely-produced volume. Duffy covers more ground chronologically, tracing the evolution of the book of hours in England from its beginnings through the Reformation to its terminal decline in the late sixteenth century. Scott-Stokes's anthology offers a wider range of texts within a narrower period, accurately translated and accompanied by detailed commentary. A notable feature of her work is its emphasis on accessibility, even ‘for readers who are not familiar with Christian terms and terminology’ (preface). Nothing is taken for granted; its glossary of liturgical and technical terms and proper names includes entries for ‘Jesus Christ’, ‘mass’, ‘patron’ and ‘vernacular’. Although this might seem unduly basic, it reflects (I would argue) a realistic assessment of the probable level of knowledge of most of its audience; Scott-Stokes communicates her expertise without patronising her readers, making a difficult and highly technical topic easily approachable (a reader might well be confused, for example, by Duffy's reference at one point to seven canonical hours, at another to eight, but would find the explanation in Scott-Stokes). This thorough and careful study offers a significant contribution to the study of English books of hours, but it would also be helpful to anyone embarking on the study of books of hours in general.