"This is an excellent and sympathetic study of Samuel Wesley's High Church world." -- W. M. Jacob, Wesley and Methodist Studies "In the end, William Gibson's excellent study of Samuel Wesley is less about the crisis of Tory piety than it is about the crisis of Tory politics . in the process, Gibson invites us to think afresh about the origins of Methodism and the family and milieu from which the Wesley brothers emerged." -- Robert G. Ingram, History Review of New Books "In his justly-admired biography of John Wesley, Henry Rack concluded that '[John] Wesley seems to have adopted his father's Hanoverian Toryism rather than his monther's religious Jacobitism'. Gibson's book provides a thorough explanation for this auspicious development" -- G.

M. Ditchfield, Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society "Gibson's highly readable, historically sure-footed and insightful book succeeds in casting light on a neglected period in the history of the Church of England, and on the impact on ecclesial and domestic life of the events of the Long Glorious Revolution" -- Stephen Plant, Religion and Theology "Gibson, author of The Church of England 1688-1832: Unity and Accord (2001) is a proven master of English ecclesiastical history relating to the 'long eighteenth century'. This status is blisteringly apparent from his command of sources, texts, and arguments in this new exploration of Samuel Wesley, the 'grandfather' of Wesleyanism." -- Edward Keene, English Churchman "Gibson's book is both enlightening and helpful for Methodist historians as well as those interested in seventeenth and eighteenth century English history." -- Joshua Toepper, Nazarene Theological College-The University of Manchester, Religious Studies Review.