This book offers a radical reassessment of the significance of the Oxford Movement and of its leaders, Newman, Keble, and Pusey, by setting them in the context of the Anglican High Church tradition of the preceding 70 years. No other study offers such a comprehensive treatment of the historical and theological context in which the Tractarians operated.

‘A remarkable study which substantially rewrites an important slice of Anglican history: that which explains the antecedents, and so diagnoses the essence, of the Oxford Movement … Everyone concerned about the identity of Anglicanism should read this book.’

Jonathan Clark Source: The Spectator

‘… definitive and indispensable … this book will be a standard text for any serious student of the subject.’

James Garrard Source: Theology

‘A fine work of scholarship that deserves to stand as an authority for students of ecclesiastical history for years to come.’

David Newsome Source: The Times Higher Education Supplement

‘… a … mature, and nuanced work … based upon an impressive range of new (or little known) manuscripts and printed sources, meticulously researched … What we are given here is what was, previously, so often lacking in study of the Oxford Movement: an adequate political and religious context in which to evaluate the remarkable transformation of the high church tradition into the 1830s and 40s … This important book has already made its mark.’

Perry Butler Source: Heythrop Journal