The 2011 celebration of the four hundredth anniversary of the publication of the King James Version of the Bible—still known to many as the “Authorized Version”—has prompted a welcome clutch of books and conferences, examining the origins and significance of this landmark work. This, in my view, is one of the best of them—simple in style, yet rigorous in evidence-based analysis. Gordon Campbell, Professor of Renaissance Studies at the University of Leicester, takes his readers through the complex (and still not totally understood) events of 1603–1604 leading to the decision to produce a new translation, followed by a highly accessible account of the translation and production process, culminating in its publication in 1611. An appendix gives a detailed and reliable account of what is known of the translators.

The remainder of the text concerns how it was received by its readers across the centuries. Campbell then takes his readers through the history of the reception of the text, leading to the twentieth-century debates about the need for revision. This is an excellent and reliable account of the genesis and reception of the King James Version, generously furnished with apposite illustrations. Campbell is particularly helpful in documenting the growing divergence between a literary classic, valued on account of its language, and a working religious text, capable of being understood and appreciated by its readers.

Although this work is well-grounded in scholarship, Campbell generally avoids becoming embroiled in scholarly debates over issues that are not without relevance to his topic. The book is a highly accessible account of the issues, which wears its learning lightly and summarizes the scholarly consensus without feeling under any pressure to correct or advance it.

Yet the present reviewer could not help but wish for more. Why, for example, did the Geneva Bible remain so popular? Why did the new translation take so long to find wide acceptance? Campbell gives his readers food for thought on both these points, yet many will find themselves wishing for a deeper explanation of the course of events. I am still, for example, left baffled as to why the decision was made to undertake a new translation at the Hampton Court Conference of January 1604. Campbell reassures me that I have good cause to be baffled, yet does not really advance discussion of the question. Yet perhaps these are unreasonable expectations. Campbell has set out to write a historically accurate and scholarly informed account of the origins, development, and reception of this most famous of English Bibles, and has succeeded admirably in that task. This beautifully produced work is an ideal text to recommend for general courses on the English Bible at undergraduate or graduate levels.