Westminster Abbey: The last days of the monastery as shown by the life and times of Abbot John Islip, 1464-1532

The book reconstructs the monastery's final decades through the life and rule of Abbot John Islip, who restored its prestige, and the ensuing administration whose slackness eased its suppression. It examines internal organization under Benedictine practice, financial rolls, officers’ duties, and building projects, while tracing public and political involvements that affected monastic fortunes. Attention is given to liturgical, managerial, and architectural detail, to common misconceptions about the dissolution, and to a brief post-suppression revival during which a monk preserved a thread of the Benedictine succession.