This volume consists of fourteen papers given at two conferences held in 2019 to mark the 350th anniversary of the birth of Susanna Wesley, mother of John Wesley. While its geographical coverage is restricted mainly to Britain, the volume covers an impressive chronological range, which stretches from Susanna's childhood during the late seventeenth century through to the present day. The first section focuses on Susanna's life, and the ways in which it impacted on the Methodist movement. William Gibson discusses Susanna's ‘political marriage’ to Samuel Wesley, incumbent of Epworth, Lincolnshire. Politically, both Samuel and Susanna were Tories. Unlike the Williamite Samuel, however, Susanna remained loyal to the exiled Jacobite Pretender. Thus, Susanna did not ‘conform to the role of an obedient Tory wife’, who deferred in all politico-theological matters to the husband (p. 47). As is shown by Linda Ryan, such assertiveness and independence stemmed from Susanna's childhood. Under the tuition of her Puritan father, Samuel Annesley, Susanna received an education that went beyond what was customary for women during the late seventeenth century. Thus, Susanna was determined to provide her own children with a strong education, in which she melded a Lockean emphasis on the individual with ‘Puritan virtues’, such as ‘industry’ and ‘frugality’ (p. 58). As Ryan argues convincingly, John Wesley's support for female education stemmed in no small part from the strong education his sisters received from Susanna. Ryan is, however, careful to add that John supported female education primarily because he believed it enhanced the piety of women, not because it advanced their intellect. As is shown by John Lenton, John Wesley's willingness to trust the ‘extraordinary’ callings of lay preachers stemmed from Susanna's intervention. Initially, John restricted this support to laymen. Yet, after witnessing the successful ministries of female preachers, such as Sarah Crosby, he recognised that the ‘extraordinary call’ to preach was not restricted to men.

The second section provides various case studies of female Methodist preachers. Eryn White explores Calvinist Methodist preachers in eighteenth-century Wales, thereby reminding us that the influence of early Methodist women was restricted neither to England nor Wesleyanism. For the most part, the content of their preaching – which would have been in Welsh – is lost. To illuminate their theological ideas, White turns to items of personal correspondence, in which these women described their conversion experiences to Evangelical leaders, such as Howel Harris. Moving forwards into the nineteenth century, Tim Macquiban discusses women preachers among the early Primitive Methodists, a movement which emerged after a camp meeting at Mow Cop on the borders of Staffordshire and Cheshire in 1807. Throughout the 1810s, 20 per cent of Primitive Methodist preachers were women. One influential figure was Sarah Kirkland, an itinerant preacher, who ‘attracted thousands’ to a camp meeting in Nottingham (p. 158). During the latter half of the nineteenth century, however, the number of female Primitive Methodist preachers declined rapidly. Jill Barber explores the reasons for this decline, arguing that it was due, in part, to the movement's transition from ‘mission to maintenance, from evangelism to chapel building’ during the 1850s. When preaching in the open air, Primitive Methodist women were a ‘unique spectacle’, who drew large, curious crowds. Once preaching moved into chapels, however, the focus of Primitive Methodism shifted to the ‘converted’, causing women preachers to be viewed as ‘surplus to requirements’ (pp. 263–4). Growing opposition to women preachers also stemmed partly from the Primitive Methodists’ desire for middle-class ‘respectability’. Ironically, this trajectory made the Primitive Methodists more acceptable to the Wesleyans, from whom they had originally severed on the grounds that the Wesleyans had allegedly lost their revivalist impulse (p. 266). Nevertheless, it is clear from David Bundy's essay, which discusses Catherine Stephens Smith's role in the radical holiness movement, that it would be wrong to simply class Victorian Wesleyans as ‘anti-revivalists’. Also, despite their growing ‘respectability’, Victorian Methodists were sometimes reminded of their revivalist roots by American Methodist preachers, such as Phoebe Palmer, whose 1859–63 visit to Britain is discussed by Tim Woolley. It was after listening to Palmer preach that Catherine Booth, a Methodist Reformer, felt compelled to preach in her husband William's church. Both William and Catherine, of course, went on to form the Salvation Army.

The final section moves to the 1970s, when the ordination of women was permitted in the Methodist Church of Great Britain. It consists of three reflections by Methodist ministers. One reflection is by Christina Le Moignan, one of the first women to be ordained in the Methodist Church, who discusses her experiences of ministry in various settings, including at circuit level and as a tutor at Queen's College, Birmingham. Judith Maizel-Long discusses her calling as an undergraduate at Durham during the 1970s, and recounts some of the resistance she encountered as a ministerial student, both from individuals within her own denomination and from an Anglican priest. Moving closer to the present day, Michaela Youngson observes that there are huge disparities in terms of the influence and authority of women in the ‘global’ Methodist Church. As someone who has ministered in Papua New Guinea, Youngson is able to provide a first-hand account of some of these cultural differences. Given the wide breadth of locations, periods and individuals discussed in these essays, it would be churlish to dwell on what this volume is missing. There is a noticeable chronological chasm separating the end of the Victorian period and the ordination of women during the 1970s. It would have been fascinating to have learned about the experiences of Methodist women during the First and Second World Wars. Did a shortage of men on the home front result in women occupying more positions of leadership in Methodist churches? This minor observation aside, the editors and authors are to be congratulated on this thought-provoking and insightful volume, which enhances our understanding of the fundamental and varied role played by women in British Methodist movements. It is to be hoped that this book will be the first of many to be published by the Oxford Centre for Methodism and Church History.