Robert Southey, The Life of Wesley; and the Rise and Progress of Methodism

Robert Southey, The Life of Wesley; and the Rise and Progress of Methodism
Author: Tim Fulford
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 784
Release: 2022-05-31
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0429682298

The Life of Wesley was one of Southey’s most influential and bestselling works. It was the first biography of John Wesley – the major figure in the largest religious movement of the eighteenth century – to be published by anyone beyond the Methodist community. In addition, it was a major history of the rise of a phenomenon that Southey and many others saw as a defining sign of contemporary history – the rise of sectarianism and of religious cults. This two-volume edition will represent the full text of the 1820 edition. It will include a comprehensive critical apparatus that will make sense of the major issues posed by the text and how it contributes to studies of both Southey and Romanticism. The edition will feature a critical and contextual introduction, which will set out the origins and composition of the text together with its publication history, as well as offer a carefully considered view of the interplay between the Life and other biographies of Wesley and accounts of Methodism, bringing into view the wide array of sources and influences Southey drew from. It will also examine the book’s reception history, incorporating material from reviews of the period and detailing the controversy it caused in the Methodist community.

The Routledge Companion to John Wesley

The Routledge Companion to John Wesley
Author: Clive Murray Norris
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 680
Release: 2023-08-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1000928225

The Routledge Companion to John Wesley provides an overview of the work and ideas of one of the principal founders of Methodism, John Wesley (1703-91). Wesley remains highly influential, especially within the worldwide Methodist movement of some eighty million people. As a preacher and religious reformer his efforts led to the rise of a global Protestant movement, but the wide-ranging topics addressed in his writings also suggest a mind steeped in the intellectual developments of the North Atlantic, early modern world. His numerous publications cover not only theology but ethics, history, aesthetics, politics, human rights, health and wellbeing, cosmology and ecology. This volume places Wesley within his eighteenth-century context, analyzes his contribution to thought across his multiple interests, and assesses his continuing relevance today. It contains essays by an international team of scholars, drawn from within the Methodist tradition and beyond. This is a valuable reference particularly for scholars of Methodist Studies, theology, church history and religious history.

The Life of Wesley: and the Rise and Progress of Methodism, by Robert Southey

The Life of Wesley: and the Rise and Progress of Methodism, by Robert Southey
Author: Tim Fulford
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2023-01-06
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1000544389

The Life of Wesley was one of Southey’s most influential and bestselling works. It was the first biography of John Wesley – the major figure in the largest religious movement of the eighteenth century – to be published by anyone beyond the Methodist community. In addition, it was a major history of the rise of a phenomenon that Southey and many others saw as a defining sign of contemporary history – the rise of sectarianism and of religious cults. This two-volume edition will represent the full text of the 1820 edition. It will include a comprehensive critical apparatus that will make sense of the major issues posed by the text and how it contributes to studies of both Southey and Romanticism. The edition will feature a critical and contextual introduction, which will set out the origins and composition of the text together with its publication history, as well as offer a carefully considered view of the interplay between the Life and other biographies of Wesley and accounts of Methodism, bringing into view the wide array of sources and influences Southey drew from. It will also examine the book’s reception history, incorporating material from reviews of the period and detailing the controversy it caused in the Methodist community.