The ‘apocryphal’ version of the biblical book of Daniel is a prime example of how non-canonical scriptural texts have shaped Western culture. In what will be the first monograph in English on this text and its afterlife, I ask what are the significant thematic clusters in the book’s history of interpretation, examining its impact on the development of six important constructs: martyrdom, resurrection, visuality, typology, and idolatry. An innovative methodology combines historical work with interpretive work: I trace the history of this book’s reception from earliest Christian frescoes to twentieth-century film and from rabbinic martyrdoms to Anglo-Saxon poetry, while also re-reading the text in the light of contemporary theological and theoretical treatments of the six key thematic areas. I aim to provide students, pastors and scholars with an inviting entry-point into this long-cherished but now little-known part of the Daniel tradition, and also into the riches of two thousand years of biblical interpretation in sermon, song, art and literature.