Richard Allen and Rosemary Moore introduce this highly-anticipated book as the modern answer to William Braithwaite's The second period of Quakerism, reflecting that ‘the time seems to have come for a new book on the second period as a whole, which is the aim of the present volume’. It is consequently tempting to evaluate the work through this lens. However, the comparison is a dangerous one. The sheer scope and depth of Braithwaite's seminal study – now a century old – remain unrivalled, and the authors' decision to organise the volume as a series of thematic chapters, only loosely chronological, largely prevents any systematic review of Braithwaite's interpretation of the period as a whole. This is reflected by the absence of any comprehensive conclusion (although Robynne Rogers Healey's final chapter on eighteenth-century Quakerism functions similarly as a full-stop to the discussion) and by a certain narrative conservatism in parts. Most notably, this reviewer would have preferred less emphasis on the key personalities of George Fox and George Whitehead, particularly regarding the identification of Whitehead's death in 1723 as the end of the second period. Numerous events of greater importance hit the Quaker movement before this point and, as George Southcombe helpfully notes on pages 170–1, the movement had changed considerably even fifty years before Whitehead's death. Yet this should not be allowed to detract from the book's considerable strengths. Taken on its own terms, the work marks a turning point of scholarly interest in the second period of Quaker history and must be applauded as a triumph of collaborative scholarship. It is written with admirable clarity throughout, and the academic achievements of the last century – easier access to primary sources, a more nuanced consideration of the role of women and the wealth of scholarship surrounding the English Revolution – are brought to bear on the subject matter with elegance and ease. Guest chapters by Raymond Brown and Alan P. F. Sell, George Southcombe, J. William Frost, Emma Lapansky-Werner, Erin Bell and Robynne Rogers Healey provide rich and perceptive interventions on a range of topics that are all ultimately deserving of monograph-length treatment in their own right. Moreover, the volume has clearly been produced with the reader in mind, demonstrated not only by the general tone of the discussion but by the inclusion of extremely useful resources such as the timeline of events at the back of the book. Second period Quakerism has suffered from scholarly neglect when compared to the early years of the Quaker movement, despite having arguably greater implications for a number of critical issues in the broader study of the seventeenth century: the relationship between Nonconformity and orthodoxy; the formation of Anglicanism; the story of religious toleration; and the contribution of dissenting groups to the dawning Enlightenment. This book elegantly unpacks such themes in the light of modern research and, in this sense, the anticipation was well-deserved. It is a joy to read, and will undoubtedly stand as an indispensable resource for all students and scholars of this important subject.