Susanna Wesley, long celebrated in Methodist mythology as mother of the movement's founders, now takes place as a practical theologian in her own right. This collection of her letters, spiritual diary, and longer treatises (only one of which was published in her lifetime) shows her to be more than the nurturing mother of Wesleyan legend. It also reveals her to be a well-educated woman in conversation with contemporary theological, philosophical, and literary works. Her quotations and allusions include Locke, Pascal, and Herbert, as well as a number of now forgotten theologians. In some of her work, one can distinguish doctrinal and spiritual leanings, such as Arminianism and Christian perfection, that would later find wide expression in the spread of Methodism. Further, her writings demonstrate her readiness, for conscience's sake, to stand up to the men in her life--father, husband, and sons---and the three incarnations of English Protestantism they represented: respectively,
Puritanism, the Established Church, and the new Methodist movement. Tracing these incidents in her letters and diaries, a reader can begin to understand how spirituality, even an otherwise conservative one in rather restrictive times, can serve to empower the voice of women.
Industry Reviews
"Readers with an interest in Methodism and those in women's studies will be delighted with Wallace's approach....[He] brings a wealth of knowledge to bear upon his task....Drawing on the insights of recent Methodist, feminist, theological, and literary scholarship, he offers a multi-dimensional approach which never distorts or patronizes, but always deepens the reader's understanding of Wesley and her historical context....[Methodist scholars] now have in hand
a tool which may well revise our understanding of the roots of Methodism."--Touchstone
"By publishing this body of previously unavailable material in a single volume he performs a signal service to religious, feminist, and literary studies."--The Review of English Studies
"...will prove both indispensable to the serious student and fascinating to the general reader. Rarely has such a collection of foundation documents been edited in such a user-friendly way."--Journal of Ecclesiastical History
"...an exemplary piece of academic editing....[Susanna Wesley] has been well served by her editor, who rounds off the volume with a detailed bibliography and an in-depth index."--Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society
"This collection represents an important contribution to Wesley studies, British studies, and eighteenth-century studies. It is carefully edited and helpfully annotated by one of the most knowledgeable scholars of Susanna Wesley."--Church History
"Readers with an interest in Methodism and those in women's studies will be delighted with Wallace's approach....[He] brings a wealth of knowledge to bear upon his task....Drawing on the insights of recent Methodist, feminist, theological, and literary scholarship, he offers a multi-dimensional approach which never distorts or patronizes, but always deepens the reader's understanding of Wesley and her historical context....[Methodist scholars] now have in hand
a tool which may well revise our understanding of the roots of Methodism."--Touchstone
"By publishing this body of previously unavailable material in a single volume he performs a signal service to religious, feminist, and literary studies."--The Review of English Studies
"...will prove both indispensable to the serious student and fascinating to the general reader. Rarely has such a collection of foundation documents been edited in such a user-friendly way."--Journal of Ecclesiastical History
"...an exemplary piece of academic editing....[Susanna Wesley] has been well served by her editor, who rounds off the volume with a detailed bibliography and an in-depth index."--Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society
"This collection represents an important contribution to Wesley studies, British studies, and eighteenth-century studies. It is carefully edited and helpfully annotated by one of the most knowledgeable scholars of Susanna Wesley."--Church History
"This collection of Susanna Wesley's writings will be of significant interest to scholars in a wide range of fields--from such obvious areas as 17th and 18th century British religious history and Methodist history to women's history, religious education and spirituality."--Critical Review of Books in Religion 1997
"Wallace's book will stand as the definitive work for researchers of Susanna Wesley and Methodist women, and indeed for historians of all eighteenth-century women."--Albion
"...therre is fascinating material for social history here, particularly for the study of devotion and gender roles in an eighteenth-century Church of England rectory....This collection of Susanna Wesley's works will certainly be a great resource for generations to come."--Anglican Theological Review
