Nowhere but in the Bible were dramatic textual material and the artistry of Gustave Doré more perfectly matched. The Book of Books seemed to unleash a new power of creation in Doré not apparent in his previous work. In the Creation scenes, the horrifying visions of the Flood, the battle sequences with their monumental crowds, the plates depicting the life of Jesus- many of which have now become the standard iconography and finally the visions of the New Jerusalem, Doré reached the fullest expression of his extraordinary talent.

This book collects together all 241 plates-long out of print-which Doré executed for the Bible. In these plates, reproduced from outstanding early editions, the artist not only captures the dramatic intensity of the Scriptures, but sustains it longer than any other single artist was able to do. In addition Doré reimagined all the scenes, so that what he produced was not a mere reworking of what centuries of other artists had already done, but a new and fresh visual interpretation of the Bible.

Each plate is accompanied by the verse(s) from the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible which that plate depicts, and an introduction by Millicent Rose covers Doré's life and art in general. This is a sumptuous book which everyone, from those interested in Scripture to lovers of great art, will be proud to possess.