'The Revolution in Tanner's Lane' deserves to be more widely read and admired. Set in the early years of the nineteenth century, it offers a thought-provoking analysis of the tensions within the Dissenting community and its links with early political radicalism faced with a repressive government and, in addition, the more subtle challenges to faith that modern life brings. William Hale White (who used the pseudonym Mark Rutherford) was himself an apostate from Calvinism and writes with humanity, subdued wit and compassion.

The Colbeck collection was formed over half a century ago by the Bournemouth bookseller Norman Colbeck. Focusing primarily on British essayists and poets of the nineteenth century from the Romantic Movement through the Edwardian era, the collection features nearly 500 authors and lists over 13,000 works. Entries are alphabetically arranged by author with copious notes on the condition and binding of each copy. Nine appendices provide listings of selected periodicals, series publications, anthologies, yearbooks, and topical works.