The Letters of Charles Wesley: A Critical Edition, with Introduction and Notes. Volume 1:1728–1756. Edited by Kenneth G. C. Newport and Gareth Lloyd.

Abstract

P rofessor N ewport and Dr Lloyd have produced further fruits of their collaboration in working on the Methodist collections at the John Rylands University Library Manchester, where 75 per cent of the material transcribed and edited are to be found. These letters of Charles Wesley, the eighteenth-century poet, preacher, priest, and hymn-writer extraordinaire and co-leader of the Methodist revival movement within the Church of England, are a very rich resource, not merely for students of Methodism but also for social and religious historians of that period. In published form (many are previously unpublished and gathered from other institutions in the UK and USA) they supplement the editions of the sermons (OUP, 2001) and the Manuscript Journal (Kingswood Books, 2008). The work of Dr Tim Underhill, in helping to decipher the complex shorthand adopted by Charles Wesley, is acknowledged. Set in the context of the helpful section on methodology, of how the letters were gathered together (their provenance explored) and transcribed (their interpretation discussed), one recognizes the dedication and care needed in the production of this vital research tool for those seeking to understand the complex personality of Charles.