In The Virgin Mary's Book at the Annunciation, Laura Saetveit Miles marshals a generous and diverse collection of evidence and perceptive critical attention to make an important contribution to the history of reading, the study of affective devotion in late medieval England, and feminist approaches to medieval literature and culture. Miles presents Mary and her “book at the Annunciation as a symbol not only of the divine Logos made flesh in a woman's womb, but also as a symbol of how each Christian could access God through the Word” (p. 225). Miles deftly trains our attention on instances of Christian representations of and interactions with the Annunciation scene in England (and the continent) from the eleventh through the fifteenth centuries, crossing over briefly into the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Ultimately, Miles leads her reader through a nuanced assessment of interactions with and imitations of the Virgin Mary, all coalescing...
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