The story of an eccentric man, living his life by his own rules and the havoc that he plays in the lives of other people, who cannot seem to disentangle themselves from him. Bunderlin may be a criminal, a murderer even, but Martin isn't sure... Bunderlin, Bundy, Bird, The Big Man-even his name becomes wordplay. An irresistible force in the lives of the people he decides will be his friends. Bunderlin is infuriating, charming and often plain rude. He enters Martin's life in a sinister way-Martin is being followed, he receives photographs anonymously, he is suddenly thrown from his comfortable life in academia into the social world of hookers, petty criminals and even murderers. But could Bunderlin, a man obsessed with kindness to animals, in fact be a murderer himself? Idiosyncratic use of language is a hallmark of Bunderlin's character, and also of this book; a novel that is a delightful and absorbing read. Robert Crompton has constructed a story full of characters who defy stereotype and worm their way into your affections.

When Melanie rebels against the authoritarian religion of her family, she is cut off and has to make her way in life alone. Only then does she learn about Susan who had broken free a generation earlier. Leaving Gilead is the story of two women's struggles to build new lives after growing up in a religion that promotes irrational belief and conformity with arbitrary rules above above personal development.

With Solomon’s Magpie Robert Crompton returns to his favourite haunts in Cheshire to disentangle a story told by Solomon Whitaker, boatman, basket-maker, and brewer. Solomon heard the story from his mother and went to the trouble of learning to read and write so that he could set it down. Generations later, fifteen-year-old Judy must try to create a readable version of the tale. But there’s a problem - a large part of the story is missing, and it’s clearly the most important part. Supported by her unlikely friendships with Twirl and Tracey, Judy fills in the gaps herself. Nobody believes her, however, because she is a compulsive spinner of yarns and teller of tall tales. Nobody will be really sure of what happened unless the missing pages can be found - and with them Solomon’s magpie.

This work, written by a man personally involved with the Jehovah's Witnesses movement for several years, provides an examination of the Witnesses' eschatological development, treating Watch Tower theology objectively but sympathetically. It also speculates about the future direction of Jehovah's Witness teaching. The book begins with a consideration of the biblical foundations of doctrines of the last days, particularly the books of Daniel and Revelation. There follows an outline summary of some of the main aspects of the history of the doctrine within the Protestant mainstream during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and an outline of the Adventist teaching of William Miller (1782-1849) in the USA. Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916), prime mover of the Watch Tower movement, developed his ideas during the time following the failure of Miller's expectations. This book explores the way in which Russell amended Miller's ideas and also the distinctive way in which he handled the Dispensational categorization of history of John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) to create an extension of historicist speculation on the application of prophecy to the modern world. The response of the Watch Tower movement to the failure of Russell's expectations in 1914 is explored and the new body of doctrine which has replaced Russell's is examined. The ways in which these doctrines have been modified in the past suggest ways in which future doctrine may develop, especially in response to the protracted delay of Armageddon. What is envisaged, in the light of the history of Watch Tower doctrine, is no dramatic collapse of the movement but rather an increasing emphasis upon other less vulnerable areas of doctrine together with a greater turnover of membership which may, in due course, undermine the movement's stability.

Did young Vic Scanlon really see a girl held prisoner in a church elder's home? Or was he just imagining things? Should he tell? Or should he keep quiet as all the adults insisted?

Shadows of Gilead tells the stories of three very different defectors from the same congregation of the Fellowship of Gilead who all want to discover the truth as what was going on when they were kids.

Was the girl in the elder's junk room real? What became of her after Vic had tried to spill the beans? Can she be found all these years later? And what will happen if she is found?

Shadows of Gilead is a work of fiction, but it depicts the kind of dark goings on and cover-ups all too often hidden behind the doors of some authoritarian religions masquerading as beacons of righteousness.

Pathways to Freedom offers a helping hand to former Jehovah's Witnesses who can too easily become stuck in the transit zone between the Watchtower and new life. How do you let go of the baggage which weighs you down all along the way? How do you start to make new friends when you always had it drummed into you that you could trust nobody outside the Witnesses? How do you stop the constantly nagging doubts about whether you did the right thing to break free? Pathways to Freedom is here to help.

Stories in the Scriptures offers a way of reading familiar texts from a fresh perspective. Robert Crompton comes to the ancient narratives in the role of a story-teller and asks, not, “What must we believe?” but, “What real situations might have prompted people just like ourselves to tell these tales?”

In trying to find possible answers to questions of this sort, Robert finds himself drawn closer to the people behind the stories. Ordinary people who really are just like ourselves, who loved to tell their tales – to inform, to entertain, and maybe sometimes even to mislead. Real people to whom we can relate and who can inspire us to tell our own stories.

Stories in the Scriptures tells the story of Robert’s involvement with the Bible over many years from early childhood to retirement and beyond. Also it offers what will be of interest to people who, having defected from very authoritarian versions of Christian belief, nevertheless wish to continue some engagement with biblical and religious issues. There will be some who simply want to lay to rest various lingering problems of belief which may persist long after defection. Others may be seeking a new religious fellowship but are wary of coming under pressure to assent to any rigid doctrinal package. Yet others just find the topics fascinating and wish to find out what someone else might think. Wherever you are along this spectrum, Stories in the Scriptures is for you.