The latter half of the seventeenth century saw the Puritan families of England struggle to preserve the old values in an era of tremendous political and religious upheaval. Even non-conformist ministers were inclined to be pessimistic about the endurance of `godliness' - Puritan attitudes and practices - among the upper classes. Based on a study of family papers and other primary resources, Trevor Cliffe's study reveals that in many cases, Puritan county families were playing a double game: outwardly in communion with the Church, they often employed non-conformist chaplains, and attended nonconformist meetings.

For the better part of two centuries, Wesley scholars have been given a picture of the family of John Wesley that focuses positively upon the relationships of John and his brother Charles and his mother Susanna. What has come down to us about John Wesley's father--Samuel Wesley, Sr.--is a mixture of good and bad character traits, mostly seemingly inconsequential with respect to the making of Methodism under John and Charles. Now with Arthur Torpy's work, we have reason to think differently. Samuel Wesley, Sr. was a complex person whose thoughts, actions, and convictions were based on his understanding and practice of his tradition, experience, scripture, and reasoning. The Prevenient Piety of Samuel Wesley, Sr. examines the life of Samuel Wesley, exploring the influences of his early Dissenting upbringing, his Oxford education, subsequent published writings, and post 1709 sermons.

Reproduction of the original: ́Brief Lives ́, chiefly of Contemporaries, between the Years 1669 & 1696 by John Aubrey

This engaging and beautifully illustrated book takes us back to the domestic world of the landed gentry in seventeenth-century England. Relating countless stories and case histories drawn from a wide range of primary sources, the book describes the physical environment, staffing, and functioning of gentry households, the inhabitants and their activities, and the role of these houses in the social and economic life of their localities. J. T. Cliffe begins by exploring the exterior and interior of houses and the outbuildings, parks, and gardens that surrounded them. He then investigates the people who lived in the country houses and the relationships between them. He provides colorful details about the responsibilities of the squire and his wife; the duties, remuneration, food, clothing, accommodation, and treatment of servants; and the special duties of estate stewards, coachmen, chaplains, and tutors. Cliffe explains various aspects of housekeeping, such as the tradition of hospitality and the factors militating against it. He also discusses other kinds of activity: religious practices; outdoor sports and indoor pastimes, including music and billiards; and such intellectual pursuits as antiquarian research, poetry, and scientific experiments. He concludes with a fascinating survey of scandal in the world of the gentry, telling of domestic strife, financial disaster, lunacy, and other disasters that marred this idyllic existence.