Memoirs of the Late Rev. John Wesley, A.M.: Volume 3: With a Review of his Life and Writings, and a History of Methodism, from its Commencement in 1729, to the Present Time

This three-volume account of the life of John Wesley (1703-91) was published in the year of his death. Written by John Hampson (c.1753-1819), a Church of England clergyman and former Methodist preacher, the work also contains a thorough review of Wesley’s writings and a history of Methodism. Hampson’s excellent overview of contemporary assessments of the preacher is more balanced than John Whitehead’s two-volume Life of the Rev. John Wesley (1793-6), which has also been reissued in this series. Volume 3 gives an account of Wesley’s death, but is predominantly concerned with a critique of Methodist theology, activity and mode of preaching. It gives a measured assessment of Wesley’s character and reflects on the opposition to the work’s previous volumes displayed by Wesley’s executors, highlighting the struggle over his legacy - a matter of great importance in the history of Methodism.