The Letters of Samuel Wesley

... excellent Biographical Introduction ... Philip Olleson has done a tremendous service to the historians of both music and Methodism by not only making the correspondence accessible but providing such extensive and scholarly footnotes ... a valuable addition to the available literature on the Wesley family at a time when Samuel's music is becoming more widely available. * Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society *
An outstanding scholarly resource that will interest greatly scholars from music to history to religion. * Anglican and Episcopal History *
A fascinating professional and social life-history. * Anglican and Episcopal History *
A distinctive contribution to Wesley scholarship. * The Tracker *
For those studying Samuel Wesley's life or music, the collection will rightly be seen as indispensable. * The Heythrop Journal *
Philip Olleson's volume Professional and social correspondence 1797-1837 is beautifully produced and an indispensable companion to the Source book. Within its pages Wesley's voice speaks clearly and continuously. * Musical Times *
Scholars owe Philip Olleson an enormous debt of gratitude, because he has opened the door on an extremely significant, yet little known, area of research, and has given Samuel Wesley the recognition he truly deserves. * Recusant History *
The Letters reveals an enormous breadth of erudition and editorial control. At no point does one feel overwhelmed by unnecessary minutiae, or deficient in information ... each page shows great mastery of his topic and fine methodological balance. * Recusant History *
Here is a book which brings Wesley's importance into focus, and provides the first thoroughly researched work of its kind. Olleson's meticulous edition will reposition Wesley in music studies of the period and will substantially revise our understanding of musical culture of the time. * Recusant History *
A welcome and long overdue initiative. * The Tablet *
This is a treasury of information which will remain a classic edition for many years to come. Philip Olleson is to be congratulated on his research and production. His promised supplementary volumes will be awaited with great anticipation. * Methodist Recorder *
The publication marks a turning point in our understanding of this extraordinary member of the Wesley family. It brings together for the first time some 400 letters to friends and fellow musicians, meticulously researched, superbly annotated and indexed and prefaced by a chronology of Samuels's life and a brief biography. * Methodist Recorder *
Wesley, whose own publishing ventures came to little, and whose contributions to musical learning were never given their due value ... would have been amazed and delighted to see this beautifully produced book, doubtless pausing only a moment before dashing off a long and genial letter of approbation to its precise and literate editor, Philip Olleson. * Times Literary Supplement *
We must be grateful to Philip Olleson for his painstaking scholarship, his immense sympathy for his subject and his ability to give non-musical minds the possibility of appreciating the musical history of England in the early nineteenth century. * The Tablet *