With The Red Dragon of Oxford coming out on 15th January, I’m excited to share some pictures of the beautiful Book of Kells. This exquisite medieval manuscript inspired the text known as the Rosea in my book.

The Rosea is about a century younger than the Book of Kells, dating from the late ninth century. Despite the age gap, there’s a close resemblance, with the same beautiful Latin script and vividly coloured illustrations. The pigments used for the real book, including gold and lapis lazuli, were phenomenally expensive. Perhaps this is why the colours remain so vibrant twelve hundred years later:

I love the way that not only are the initial letters are turned into beautiful pictures, but seemingly random ones throughout the text are transformed into artistic doodles.

Vaguely aware that the Book of Kells had been exhibited in Australia some years ago, I started wondering how they kept it safe during its travels. Apparently, along with being moved in great secrecy and with a security price-tag of £1 million, it was given its very own black box with a homing beacon. It was also insured for £50 million. I wonder how the underwriters arrived at that valuation — it’s not as if there are other books quite like this one.

The efforts that go into safeguarding the Book of Kells leave me with a twinge of guilt about what happens to the Rosea.

If you’d like to find out more about the Rosea along with Mark and Rufus’s story, The Red Dragon of Oxford is now available for pre-order here.