The Greatest English Puritan Biography EVER WRITTEN by Thomas Smith - Now Available

[C. Matthew McMahon]

Select Memoirs of the English and Scottish Divines, by Thomas Smith

Thomas Smith wrote the most fantastic biography on the English Puritans I've ever read. It is a whopping 760 pages.
My wife read it during a final edit and said it was the best biography of any kind she ever read. It is moving, tearful, spiritually uplifting, historically accurate and covers 132 English and Scottish Puritans.
It has exceptional sections on Alexander Henderson, Samuel Rutherford and Richard Baxter, and covers entries for Ames, Ballie, Bradford, the Burgess’ (both Anthony and Cornelius), Case, Cawdrey, Coverdale, Cotton, Fox, Gillespie, Goodman, Goodwin, Henderson, Hooker, Hooper, Janeway, Latimer, Lightfoot, Ridley, Rogers, Rutherford, Sibbes, Tyndale, Vines, and a host of others.

There have been other biographies out there where they take you through key Puritan Figures to meet the puritans in various ways. Thomas Brooks has a 3 volume work. Daniel Neal's is gigantic in small type, double column, in multiple volumes. Madsen has a two volume double set. This is a one volume work worth the weight of all the others. And it is in ELECTRONIC format too with an active table of contents for easy searching.

This is a treat, even though it may take you a few months to read! It's gold to the soul and exceedingly God glorifying.

eBook in all formats
Select Memoirs of the English and Scottish Divines - by Thomas Smith | The Puritan Shop

Hardback:
Select Memoirs of the English and Scottish Divines by Thomas Smith (Hardcover)

If you want to download immediately to your Kindle, then here as well at Amazon (at a little discount too!):
Select Memoirs of the English and Scottish Divines: Thomas Smith, Amazon.com: Kindle Store


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[LeeD]

How would this compare to Beeke's book, "Meet the Puritans"? That is one I have read and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you are familiar with that book, I would love to hear some of the differences I might find in this one.

 

[C. Matthew McMahon]

A few major distinctions...

1) Thomas Smith wrote concerning the English Reformers through the time of Wycliffe up until the Puritans. He was concerning in setting the stage for Puritanism. Meet the Puritans does not deal with that at all. Nor does Thomas Smith deal with "American Puritans" as Meet the Puritans do (although there is no such thing as an American Puritan.)

2) As the extended title shows, he was interesting in bringing the reader up through to Westminster, the crown of puritanism. He was not so interested in all those that "Meet the Puritans" dealt with after Westminster.

Select Memoirs of the Lives, Labours, and Sufferings, of Those Pious and Learned English and Scottish Divines, Who Greatly Distinguished Themselves in Promoting the Reformation from Popery; In Translating the Bible; and in Promulgating Its Salutary Doctrines by Their Numerous Evangelical Writings; and Who Ultimately Crowned the Venerable Edifice with the Celebrated Westminster Confession of Faith, etc. etc. etc.

3) Meet the Puritans does not deal with the Reformation at all. Thomas Smith has an entire section of 13 English Reformers before he even gets into formal Puritanism that is an outstanding chronicle of the martyrs of that age and time. JOHN WICKLIFFE, JOHN FRITH, WILLLIAM TYNDALE, JOHN LAMBERT, JOHN ROGERS, LAURENCE SAUNDERS, JOHN HOOPER, ROWLAND TAYLOR, D.D., JOHN BRADFORD, HUGH LATIMER, NICHOLAS RIDLEY, THOMAS CRANMER, D.D., ROBERT FERRAR. In my estimation, the section on Rowland Taylor alone is worth the price of the book.

4) Meet the Puritans is more about being, "a guide to the literature left to us by the English Puritans and their counterparts in Scotland and the Netherlands?" Than an extensive biography of the actual men and their labors, leading up and through the Reformation. The section on Alexander Henderson, for example, is extensive and deals with much in his work and life that is nowhere else found.

5) Most of "Meet the Puritans", if you are familiar with Puritanism, is...familiar. In other words, "Meet the Puritans" is about people you should read later after parousing the book. Smith deals with everyone leading up to Westminster, and sets the stage for Westminster. He deals even with obscure puritans, like JOHN GREENE, JOHN WHITE, Peter SMART, RICHARD BLACKERBY, DANIEL CAWDREY (of which we are publishing all of his works being an important contributor to the Independency and church government controversy), CALIBUTE DOWNING, FRANCIS CHEYNELL, THOMAS COLEMAN (which we are also printing all his sermons at this time), WILLIAM TWISSE (moderator of the Assembly, and of which we are printing all his works now) and a host of others including JOHN ARROWSMITH (who we are also currently reprinting all his works).

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[LeeD]

More than a bit....thank you very much!

 

[C. Matthew McMahon]

Welcome!