Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Christopher Moore

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal is bestselling author Christopher Moore’s bold, subversive and hilarious novel that imagines the greatest story never told: the early years of Jesus’s life, as seen through the eyes of his best boyhood friend, Biff.

Everyone knows about the immaculate conception and the crucifixion. But what happened to Jesus between the manger and the Sermon on the Mount? Just what was Jesus doing during the many years that have gone unrecorded in the Bible? Biff was there at his side, and now after two thousand years, he shares those stories: the good, the bad, the ugly and the miraculous.

Originally published in 2002, Lamb was hailed by critics as “divinely hilarious,” “deeply heartfelt,” and “reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams” (Philadelphia Inquirer). The author cited Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel, The Master and Margarita, particularly the Biblical scenes told from Pontius Pilate’s point of view, as partial inspiration to write the novel. In 2017, religious scholar Eric Vanden Eykel argued that Lamb was worthy of studying as a piece of modern Christian apocrypha, remarking that students who read Lamb commented that it got them thinking about the stories of Jesus in new ways.

With his signature irreverent humor and deep affection for character, Moore offers a surprisingly tender and insightful exploration of friendship, faith and the humanity behind the divine. Long admired for its wit and audacity, Lamb remains one of Moore’s most beloved works.

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About The Edition

Our signed limited edition of Lamb is presented in three states: Classic, Numbered, and Lettered. The edition measures 6” x 9” and features eleven color illustrations by award-winning artist Bill Carman as well as a new introduction by Christopher Moore. Also included are two afterwords by the author, from the 2022 first edition and the 2007 Special Gift Edition. The text pages are set in Trajanus types and P22 Civilité, and are printed by offset lithography on Cougar Vellum and Mohawk Via Laid papers. Typographic design is by award-wining designer Misha Beletsky.

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A Note on the Typography

Trajanus, designed by Warren Chappell in the 1930s, blends Roman classical influence with a distinctly humanist, almost calligraphic flair—a typographic voice well-suited to Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal. Unlike the rigid solemnity of inscriptional faces like Trajan, Chappell’s Trajanus introduces warmth through its gently flared serifs, high contrast, and quirky, organic detailing. Trajanus evokes the historical weight of antiquity while slyly undermining it, much like Moore’s Biff, whose tale is both parody and homage. It’s a typeface that can carry scripture and sarcasm in the same breath.

P22 Civilité, a revival of 16th-century Civilité types tracing back to Robert Granjon and early Dutch specimens, is a deliberate choice. Its ornate capitals recall Renaissance handwriting and sacred manuscripts, grounding the book in a visual tradition of religious authority. Yet that gravity contrasts playfully with the novel’s irreverent tone, lending a visual seriousness that heightens the book’s comedic effect.

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The Classic edition is limited to 500 copies, and is bound in Napura Timber paper with Rainbow endsheets, and a foil blocked cover. It includes a dust jacket with wraparound art by Bill Carman, and is housed in a embossed paper-covered slipcase. The edition is signed by Christopher Moore and Bill Carman.

The Numbered edition is limited to 250 copies. It is bound as a 4-down link sewing modified from the traditional Greek Coptic binding technique. Each book is sewn with six needles and three paired stations. At each station, link stitches drop down four signatures to form a substantial chain similar to a cord across the spine. The covers are made from a double thickness of Davey Board to mimic the thickness of wooden board bindings and are covered in Napura Madera Walnut wood grain papers with Hahnemühle Velour Premium Pastel Paper endsheets.

The exposed spine sewing and wood-grain patterned boards recall the early book structures of the ancient Mediterranean, grounding the edition in the time and place of Joshua’s life. The Coptic-style binding—a form developed by early Christians in Egypt—nods to the sacred origins of scripture, while the wood-grain aesthetic evokes the simple materials and humble labor of a carpenter. Together, they echo the novel’s balance of the divine and the earthly, honoring the spiritual narrative at the heart of Lamb while embracing its raw, human perspective.

The book is housed in a wooden slipcase, hand-assembled from sustainably sourced mahogany panels that are laser cut with precision and care. The burn marks along the edges are a natural result of the laser cutting process, adding a touch of character that speaks to the handcrafted nature of the enclosure. Inside, a velvet-lined interior provides a soft, protective cradle for the book. It is printed on Mohawk Via Laid and signed by Christopher Moore and Bill Carman. The edition is bound by hand by Anne Covell in La Mesa, California.

The Lettered edition is limited to 26 copies and is a medieval style binding, with a full leather cover in rich tan calfskin from Harmatan and Oakridge. The cover is embellished with a central clasp, and is blind tooled using a triple line roll, single lines, and medieval style central decorative motifs. Raised bands cross the spine and the endbands are hand sewn with striped linen thread. Endsheets are cream laid paper.

The medieval-style binding pays homage not to the time in which the story is set, but to the way sacred texts about that era were later preserved and revered. Echoing the bindings of illuminated Gospels and devotional books from the Middle Ages, the design reflects the spiritual weight and historical legacy of Joshua’s story

The book is housed in a custom wooden enclosure made with precision butt-joint construction and a hinged lid. The box is finished in a rich stain which brings out the natural grain and character of the wood. The result is a warm, refined presentation that echoes the earthy tones of the book’s binding. It is printed on Mohawk Via Laid and signed by Christopher Moore and Bill Carman. The edition is bound by hand by Lorna McCurdy in Berkshire, United Kingdom.

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Matching Numbers & Letters

A Matching Pre-Order email is sent to owners of our previous publication, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd at 9:00 A.M. PT on the day of announcement. If you did not receive the email, contact us here. If your order is not received before the deadline, your designated number or letter will be assigned to the new owner.

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Order Limits

Please be aware of the order limits for our editions. You can read more about this in the Order Limits article on our support site.

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Illustrations by Bill Carman