Book cover of The Friar and the Cipher

Book description

A compulsively readable account of the most mysterious manuscript in the world, one that has stumped the world's greatest scholars and codebreakers.

The Voynich Manuscript, a mysterious tome discovered in 1912 by the English book dealer Wilfrid Michael Voynich, has puzzled scholars for a century. A small six inches by…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Friar and the Cipher as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I bought this book new in 2005, then misplaced it. I rediscovered it while downsizing and finally read it. I regret having not read it twenty years ago, but I'm also pleased to have done so now, in a time when I can better appreciate it. It's all about Roget Bacon, a scholar who lived 800 years ago. The Dark Ages had been bumbling along for seven centuries by then, but the wonders of the Renaissance were still in the future. Bacon was a naturalist and a scientist by nature, but he was also keenly aware of the dangers attending…

If you love The Friar and the Cipher...

Book cover of The Rosewood Penny

The Rosewood Penny by J.S. Fields,

2023 Queer Indie Award Nominee!

The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.

On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…

Want books like The Friar and the Cipher?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 12 books like The Friar and the Cipher.

Browse books like The Friar and the Cipher

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,343

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like The Friar and the Cipher, you might also like...

Book cover of Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman by Alexis Krasilovsky,

Kate from Jules et Jim meets I Love Dick.

A young woman filmmaker’s journey of self-discovery, set against a backdrop of the sexual liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman, we follow Ana Fried as she faces the ultimate…

Book cover of Malcolm Before X

Malcolm Before X by Patrick Parr,

Malcolm Before X is about finding a way to continue moving forward after everything has been taken from you. While in prison, Malcolm Little discovered the power of reading and found a way to transform his character and become a better man. This half-biography focuses on that transformation, especially his…