Robin Gwynn has spent his long career studying the Huguenot diaspora in Britain, and it is safe to say that no one on earth knows more about them than he does. Crisis, Renewal, and the Minister's Dilemma, the first of the three projected volumes of The Huguenots in Later Stuart Britain, reflects his deep knowledge—and the dedicated scholarship of fifty years. Gywnn organized the book into two main parts. The first offers a general history of the Huguenot churches, focused primarily on the London area, for which sources are generally much better. The second is an extensive biographical dictionary of Huguenot clergy, providing detail on more than seven hundred ministers. Both sections of the book represent an important advance in our knowledge of the extent and importance of the Huguenot community in Stuart Britain.

In part one, Gwynn's account stretches back to the foundation of the first French reformed church in England in 1550, but centers mostly on the years from the 1640s to the 1710s. Until the 1660s there was only one French church in London, located in Threadneedle Street. This congregation traced its roots back to the sixteenth century and it was the largest and most influential of the French churches in England, even after the dramatic increase of Huguenot numbers following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. It was not, however, the only French church. There were a number of provincial congregations and French churches in Edinburgh and Dublin, but spotty records have forced Gwynn to concentrate on the London churches.

In London until the 1670s there were two principal Huguenot churches, the Threadneedle Street congregation and a much newer church established at the Savoy in Westminster shortly after the Restoration. These two congregations existed in tension with each other because the Savoy church was conformist: it used a French version of the Anglican liturgy, modeled on the form used by the church in Jersey. Threadneedle Street, on the other hand, remained committed to its own Reformed Calvinist traditions, where ministers answered to a consistory and lay elders. The older church was larger—always at least twice the size of the Savoy—and while its congregation contained many well-established businessmen and merchants, it lacked the social cachet of the Savoy. The Savoy church enjoyed royal patronage; Charles II regularly contributed to the salary of its ministers, and its close relationship to the court attracted laypeople and clergy alike.

Both churches did their best to maintain a good relationship with the crown and the Anglican church, though this was certainly easier for the Savoy. The Threadneedle Street church had to erase the memory of its civil war allegiances—firmly Parliamentarian—but on the whole managed this well, partly by demonstrations of loyalty (erecting a triumphal arch for Charles's coronation procession, for example) and also by avoiding any close entanglement with English dissenters. In this respect the Huguenots were fortunate, for they were specifically exempted from the provisions of the 1662 Act of Uniformity. Unlike English dissenters, they could point to privileged status granted by Edward VI and Elizabeth I, although some Anglicans looked upon the nonconforming Huguenots with a jaundiced eye.

Gwynn describes the discipline and organization of the London churches, their work in poor relief, and their clergy. Huguenot clergymen faced a variety of difficulties and dilemmas, all usefully described here. Some differed with their consistories, some clashed with fellow clergymen over doctrine or church governance. A major issue for many, particularly after the surge of post-1680 refugees, was whether to seek Anglican ordination. Some did without difficulty, some with reservations, and some refused altogether. Ordination could substantially broaden a French minister's opportunities in the form of positions in the Church of England. This could be problematic for their flocks, as some abandoned smaller, less prosperous refugee congregations for more comfortable billets in the established church elsewhere.

The problems of Huguenot clergy and laity escalated dramatically following the onset of severe persecution by Louis XIV's government in the early 1680s. Waves of refugees descended upon England—some forty to fifty thousand arrived between 1680 and 1700. They received a remarkably charitable welcome. Charles II was notably generous: he offered free passage for Protestant refugees, duty-free import of their personal effects, free denization, access to schools and universities, and the right to work and trade freely in England. In addition Charles authorized the collection of funds to relieve the poorest refugees. This attitude persisted until the accession of James II, who was at first notably cold towards them. James effectively discouraged the arrival of Huguenots for the first two years of his reign, and he was not at all sympathetic to those already present in England. This attitude changed drastically, however, in 1687, when James attempted his rapprochement with dissenters. By then, however, the Huguenots thoroughly distrusted James, and they welcomed the arrival of William and Mary with joy. For the rest of the period Gwynn covers, Huguenots integrated themselves into English life, establishing numerous churches across the country. In the London area alone, the number of Huguenot churches grew from three in 1685 to twenty-six by 1700.

While he discusses the laity, particularly those involved in church governance, Gwynn focuses mostly upon the clergy throughout the first part of the book. In the second section, the clergy occupy the spotlight entirely. He has gathered an enormous amount of information about every French Protestant minister he could find, from the best known to the most obscure. He sheds light on many heretofore confused biographies, charting clerical dynasties whose members have frequently been misidentified. While he admits that there must be some ministers who have escaped his net, it is hard to imagine that there will be many new additions to this impressive roll. This will be an invaluable resource for future scholars.

Robin Gwynn has devoted his career to this project, and even before the publication of the next two volumes, historians must congratulate him on a scholarly life well spent.