Manifold Greatness: the Making of the King James Bible tells the story of the creation and immediate afterlife of the King James translation of the bible, first published in 1611. The King James Bible is the most printed book in existence, with one billion copies in print. Its effect on the English language is incalculable, both in common parlance and in literature. Richly illustrated with manuscripts, artefacts, and archival material concerning the Oxford Translators such as the annotated Bodleian Bishops’ Bible of 1602, pages from the Wycliffite and Tyndale bibles and an edition of the Bishop’s Bible owned by Elizabeth I, this book also contains material on the later reception of the King James Bible in America, including a chapter on the King James Bible and the Folger Shakespeare Library. Eight chapters contributed by leading academics in the field discuss the history of biblical translation, the political background to the project, the Oxford Translators (including Henry Savile,
