The Life of John Wesley

"Roy Hattersley follows Wesley's spiritual journey, tracing his constant, often agonizing attempts to define the nature of virtue as well as the path to sanctity. The story of Wesley's theological progress is vastly enriched by this revealing portrait of his complex personality. A genuine scholar, Wesley published more work than any other author of the eighteenth century. He possessed phenomenal energy, traveling huge distances to preach and proselytize. Wesley practiced, as Hattersley writes, "every form of personal discipline (diet, exercise, carefully planned day) except emotional restraint." This candid account of Wesley's relationships with women - falling desperately in love three times in his life, each time failing to make his intentions clear, and eventually ending up in a disastrous marriage - brings to life Wesley's human side, largely ignored in previous, reverential biographies." "A synthesis of personal, social, and spiritual biography, The Life of John Wesley sheds new light on the various influences that motivated one of the most interesting and significant figures in religious history."--Jacket.