The Rhetoric of Conversion in English Puritan Writing from Perkins to Milton

Reviews / Votes

When he is most in tune with his subject matter, Parry is at his best, and there is clear energy derived from an understanding that faith is upheld by the power of a trained ministry using holy rhetoric. * Bunyan Studies * Readable and engaging ... It will benefit a range of general readers interested in literature, church history, and theology. Most importantly, for those who have ears to hear, it will help in the ongoing rekindling of the fires of imagination that have always carried the church. * Christianity Today * Rich, scholarly, and impressively wide-ranging. * The Seventeenth Century * Parry's study deals with complexities of Reformed and Calvinist theology in a highly readable way ... The book's careful explanation and measured exploration of intricate concepts and ideas mean that, it is likely to find a readership among those with an interest in methods and modes of preaching, as well as to seventeenth century literary historians. * The Glass * The Rhetoric of Conversion in English Puritan Writing from Perkins to Milton' reexamines the evolving rhetoric of England's godly - from Perkins and Sibbes, through Baxter and the Quakers, to Bunyan and Milton. It shows how in developing a rhetoric of conversion they also effected a conversion of rhetoric, reshaping English literature with singular invention and creativity. * Professor John Coffey, University of Leicester, UK * As a whole, Parry's study is a useful addition to the discourse of early modern rhetoric. With rhetoric being such a foundational element of early modern education, his method provides a succinct approach for future studies to explore either broad or narrow rhetorical approaches in religious texts. * Travis J. Knapp, Milton Quarterly *