The Unfractured Faith of Erik Routley

Erik Routley kept the study of hymnology alive at a time when no-one was much interested in writing about it, and his work is still a yardstick by which the discussion of hymns is measured. A study of his life and work is long overdue, and Nancy Graham has provided it splendidly. Her book will be welcomed by all who are interested in the study of hymns. -- John R. Watson, professor emeritus, Durham University; author of The English Hymn, founder and co-editor of the Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology
Erik Routley was one of the giants of Congregationalism in the twentieth century. His contributions to church life, chaplaincy, and theological education were immense, but dwarfed by his incredible contribution to church music and hymnody. The lack of a biography has been a serious gap, which has now been rectified by this outstanding publication. Nancy Graham has travelled the globe chasing down every piece of archive material and every possible person to interview. The fruits of that work are this biography, which is thorough, comprehensive, and definitive. Anyone wanting to know about Erik Routley will find everything here. -- Michael Hopkins, Westminster College, Cambridge
Four decades after his death, the inimitable Erik Routley remains famous for wit, wisdom, energy, and the capacious curiosity of his thoughts and writings. Nancy Graham offers, for the first time, a careful concatenation of the persons, places, and professional roles that formed the context of his work. Building on research by Nancy Wicklund Gray, Graham draws extensively on primary sources, including correspondence with Routley’s family, friends, and fellows (as he might have called them). Her work is engaging, enlightening, and enjoyable. -- Paul A. Richardson, professor emeritus, Samford University
The Unfractured Faith of Erik Routley: From Brighton to Princeton is a rich telling of the life of a warm, brilliant, and highly influential hymnologist, congregationalist, and minister and the world in which he lived. As a minister currently serving in the URC, I am aware that the legacy of his life and work is still impacting the church and our worship today. As well as being a delightful read with many warm comments from people who knew him, by setting out the journey of Routley’s life, Nancy’s book offers a helpful perspective and valuable record in the wider story of worship in the reformed church today. -- Rev. Fiona E. Bennett, Augustine United Church URC
With a light touch which echoes Routley’s own natural style in speech and written word, and by a finely judged juxtaposition of narrative and quotation—from Routley himself and many others—Nancy Graham has crafted a memorial worthy of the man, and all in a style of writing as buoyant and engaging as her subject. -- Douglas Galbraith, Church of Scotland; participant in the Dunblane Music Consultations