Review: Select Letters of John Newton

This is the ‘re-typeset edition’ of the Banner of truth trust’s 1960 edition which has been reprinted a number of times and indicates the importance of this work for the trust and its readership. The letters themselves justify this enthusiasm. Here we have an insight into what Newton saw as his distinctive contribution to the Evangelical Revival of the late eighteenth century. Better remembered perhaps for his hymn writing – he was the joint author of Olney Hymns — in his letters he puts himself into them — ‘when I can get leisure I send my heart by turns’ to his correspondents. Hence their preservation and publication.

This review was first published on GoodBookReviews.org.uk. The site has been closed as of March 2019.