Selina, Countess of Huntingdon

Look Inside Price £18.75

Weight 0.77 kg
Dimensions 22.3 × 14.3 × 3.6 cm
ISBN 9780851518121
Binding

Cloth-bound

format

Book

page-count

496

Original Pub Date

2001

Banner Pub Date

Nov 1, 2001

Endorsements

‘Perhaps it was King George III who said it best: “I wish there was a Lady Huntingdon in every diocese in my kingdom.” May the Lord raise up many more like her!’ — TIM CHALLIES

Book Description

Deeply admired by contemporaries such as King George III, Henry Venn and George Whitefield (who described her as ‘all in a flame for Jesus’), Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon left an indelible mark on the Evangelical Awakening of the Eighteenth Century. Closely involved for nearly forty years with the leaders of the burgeoning Methodist movement, she gave herself unstintingly to the cause of Christ. She contributed sacrificially to the construction of sixty-four chapels, the opening of many other places of worship, and the founding of Trevecca College in Wales. Drawing on unpublished letters, Faith Cook gives a deeper and truer-to-life portrait than previously available. Introducing the reader to a gallery of well-known Eighteenth Century personalities, she takes us behind the scenes into Selina’s drawing rooms. There the Countess secured an entrance for the gospel among the aristocracy through the powerful preaching of such evangelical luminaries as George Whitefield, William Romaine and John Fletcher.

The driving passion of Selina’s life, according to the author, was ‘a zeal for the salvation of her servants, her acquaintances, her family and the nobility’.

As Lady Catherwood points out in the Foreword, Faith Cook’s biography not only rescues the Countess from undeserved obscurity and misrepresentation, but also shows what God can accomplish through the tireless labours of a godly woman whose heart’s desire was that the ‘dear Lamb of God, my best, my eternal, my only Friend should have all dedicated to his service and glory’.

Reviews

Table of Contents Expand ↓

List of Illustrations ix
Preface and Acknowledgements xi
Foreword xiii
Troubled Childhood 1
The Young Countess 11
All Things New 26
Setting the Scene 42
‘An Instrument for Good’ 57
To Rich and to Poor 69
Family Sorrows – Christian Friendships 82
‘I Dread Slack Hands in the Vineyard’ 101
‘A Most Brilliant Assembly’ 116
‘The Strength of Her Soul Is Amazing’ 129
The Countess and the Wesley Brothers, 1749-55 141
An Emerging Pattern 154
Family Concerns 166
Cross Currents, 1759-60 181
Doors of Opportunity 194
Travelling On 206
New Chapels, New Friends, New Unity 217
‘A School of Prophets – That Is the Thing!’ 232
Hopes Fulfilled 243
Calm before the Storm 254
The Parting of the Ways 271
The Aftermath 285
‘She Is a Mother to Us All’ 299
Missionary Endeavour 315
‘The Surprising Success of Our Labours Everywhere’ 332
Old Friends and New 349
‘I Am to Be Cast Out’ 366
Encouragements and Setbacks of Declining Years 382
‘My Time Is Short’ 398
‘My Work Is Done’ 412
APPENDICES:
 1. Letter on the Death of the Countess of Huntingdon 423
 2. Biographical Works on the Countess of Huntingdon 425
 3. Shirley Family Tree 430
 4. Hastings Family Tree 431
 5. Subsequent Service of Some Trevecca Students 432
 6. And Afterwards. . . 438
 7. The Fifteen Articles of the Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion 442
 8. The Plan of Association, 1790 448
Bibliography 454
Index 463

 

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  1. Jennifer Morrissette

    I’ve read many, many biographies, and I consider this the most inspiring and even life-changing.

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