Stephen Tomkins
Writer, broadcaster, editor & speaker
Stephen Tomkins's new book, The Journey to the Mayflower, is now out. This site has information about his books, a small selection of articles, links to more, and basically the kind of stuff that you would expect.
On The Journey to the Mayflower:
'Wonderfully learned and beautifully written' – Tom Holland
'A rattling good read ... hair-raising, sometimes hilarious and often tragic' – Archbishop John Sentamu
'A riveting story ... impeccably researched history' – Tim Farron MP
About the Author
Stephen Tomkins is a writer, broadcaster, editor and speaker. His books include seven of religious history, most recently The Journey to the Mayflower published in 2020 by Hodder & Stoughton. He has made numerous appearances as a commentator on UK television and radio. His newspaper and magazine work includes contributions to the Guardian, the BBC, the Wall Street Journal, History Today, the Yorkshire Post and the Church Times.
Stephen has performed stand up comedy for 15 years, most recently Speed Christianity, a comic lecture that covers 2000 years of church history in an hour. He plays lead guitar, harmonica and keyboard for The Pinheads, a Lewisham-based dad rock band.
The Journey to the Mayflower:
God's outlaws and the invention of freedom
Hodder & Stoughton, 2020
The sailing of the Mayflower was not just a foundational American event, it was the culmination of a radical English religious movement. This is the story of that underground church, one of prison and killings, spies and subterfuge, theological controversy and sexual scandal, and the invention of religious freedom.
Stephen says, "This was my PhD subject, 130 years ago, so the challenge is to make available the rather esoteric discoveries that no one knows anything about, while doing justice to the gripping story that is relevant to everyone living in the west today."
