He is not an eulogist, but a biographer, and he gives us Wesley as he lived, and hence his work is entitled to the high praise that is due to impartiality. No one desires to read of an ideal Wesley, but to have the real man reproduced, and Mr. Tyerman has reproduced his hero.—Boston Traveller.
There is a conscientious honesty in the portraiture of his hero which wins our regard for the author too.—Christian Standard.
We regard this as an invaluable contribution to Church history.... We believe the author has given us a history worthy of confidence, as he has certainly given it in a pleasing style.—Methodist Protestant, Baltimore.
The style is pleasant, easy, and intelligible.—Boston Journal.
Mr. Tyerman’s work will henceforth be regarded as the standard life of Wesley.—Evangelical Magazine.
No novel can excel this work for sustained interest.—Central Advocate.
This is the most complete, and will doubtless prove the most satisfactory biography of Wesley yet written. It is the result of diligent research and much painstaking, extending through twenty of the best years of a man’s life. Mr. Tyerman, the biographer, has been living amid favorable circumstances to do this, which has been to him a work of love. He writes con amore, yet free from the blinding influence of prejudice. It is to be expected that he would have his own predilections, and if he did not have them his work would not be worthy of public notice; but the severest criticism will fail, we think, to detect any miscoloring of essential facts, however it may estimate personal opinion of the man or events in his life.... The book is more than a valuable, almost indispensable, accession to the literature of the Methodist Church; it is a part of the theological treasures of the age.—College Courant.
It deserves the praise, not only of being the fullest biography of Wesley, but also of being eminently painstaking, veracious, and trustworthy.—Edinburgh Review.
It is full, fair, and written with an enthusiasm that the reader can hardly help sharing, as he is brought by the force of the author into close acquaintance with one of the remarkable religious leaders of the world.... One can not arise from a perusal of this book without feeling an increased admiration for the noble, courageous, patient saint; and the devout reader will be moved with a heartfelt gratitude to God for the life and example of such a man. The book should be read not only by all Methodists, but by every one who is interested either in accounts of moral heroism and greatness of soul, or who would trace the rise of a great form of religious thought and its development through the magnetic enthusiasm of a gifted and unselfish nature.—Louisville Courier Journal.
The best way to make a biography interesting is to permit its hero, as far as possible, to tell his own story. This plan has been adopted by Mr. Tyerman with notable success, and has resulted in the production of a work alike instructive and entertaining.—Brooklyn Union.