Excerpt from The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

‘Is it indeed? How did he know when to cry?’

‘When God chided him, Mr Lamb.’ Mrs Lamb was very emphatic. ‘All flesh is grass.’

Instinctively Mary put her hand up to her face, as Charles continued his reading from Daniel. ‘Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.’

Excerpted from The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd Copyright © 2005 by Peter Ackroyd. Excerpted by permission of Nan A. Talese, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.