This is a book about the making of books. Illuminated manuscripts are widely recognized as among the most beautiful objects of the western world. This book looks at the skills and people involved in making them, and unravels their elements one by one. At its core is a sequence of leaves from some of the greatest treasures in the V&A: a collection of missals, books of hours, breviaries and bibles that astonish us still with their richness and beauty, and have much to tell us about the medieval and Renaissance world.