This impressive book has been edited in succession, over several decades, by three pre-eminent Wesleyan scholars, the late Frank Baker, Richard P. Heitzenrater, and Randy L. Maddox. A work in Kingswood's Charles Wesley Society Series, it complements the two volumes of the manuscript journal published in 2007–08. All those interested in the life and achievement of this remarkable man, and in the broader development of Methodism, owe this Duke Divinity School team an immense debt in rendering accessible these records, often written in shorthand.
Most of these texts are drafts of material that ultimately appeared in the journal, and document Charles's early ministry from the late 1730s to 1756. Others are reports of specific events, death stories, and biographical accounts of Charles's sons. Scholarly aids include a brief introduction and indexes of persons, places, and scriptural references and allusions. The scale of the latter reminds us how Charles, like his...
