AMY LAURA HALL’s Laughing at the Devil: Seeing the world with Julian of Norwich (Duke University Press, £15.99; 978-1-4780-0025-9) is the author’s tribute to “the medieval anchorite who taught me the courage to look evil in the eye”. An academic teacher of ethics in the United States, Hall has written a deeply personal book that also acts as an introduction to Julian and her writings for those who are unfamiliar with them, and draws on the mystic’s response to living in troubled times to reflect on issues that include what it means to be human, motherhood, Christian unity, the body and, in particular, the female body, and the fears and dangers of today’s world.

Timothy Keller’s Prodigal Prophet: Jonah and the mystery of God’s mercy (Hodder & Stoughton, £12.99 (£11.70); 9781-473-69050-9). The well-known Presbyterian preacher in Manhattan is inspired not only by the Old Testament book, but by the example of John Newton, to whom his own book is dedicated.

John Tulloch’s Glimpses of Eden: Field notes from the edge of eternity is a seasonally arranged collection of his weekly nature columns for The Tablet (DLT, £11.99 (£10.80); 978-0-232-53380-4).

Ian Cowley’s The Contemplative Response: Leadership and ministry in a distracted culture (BRF, £8.99; 978-0-85746-656-3) is commended in Lord Williams’s foreword for its sharp diagnosis and simple and lucid guidance.

Malcolm Bishop QC translates in Revelation Unveiled: Saint John’s Apocalypse: A lawyer’s translation from the original Greek (Matador, £9.99; 978-1-78901-549-2).