Quakerism began in England in the 1650s. George Fox, credited as leading the movement, had an experience of 1647 in which he felt he could hear Christ directly and inwardly without the mediation of text or minister. Convinced of the authenticity of this experience and its universal application, Fox preached a spirituality in which potentially all were ministers, all part of a priesthood of believers, a church levelled before the leadership of God. Quakers are a fascinating religious group both in their original 'peculiarity' and in the variety of reinterpretations of the faith since. The way they have interacted with wider society is a basic but often unknown part of British and American history. This handbook charts their history and the history of their expression as a religious community. This volume provides an indispensable reference work for the study of Quakerism. It is global in its perspectives and interdisciplinary in its approach whilst offering the reader a clear narrative through the academic debates. In addition to an in-depth survey of historical readings of Quakerism, the handbook provides a treatment of the group's key theological premises and its links with wider Christian thinking. Quakerism's distinctive ecclesiastical forms and practices are analysed, and its social, economic, political, and ethical outcomes examined. Each of the 37 chapters considers broader religious, social, and cultural contexts and provides suggestions for further reading and the volume concludes with an extensive bibliography to aid further research.

Covering three hundred years of history, G.B. Burnet uncovers the beginnings and downfall of the Scottish Quaker movement, which, during its period of 1650-1850, had an estimated 1500 adherents. The story of Quakerism can be divided into four main periods: its rise during the few years of Cromwell's rule; the 'epic' period during the latter Stuart dynasty, during which it reached a height and simultaneously underwent its cruellest persecutions in Aberdeen; its gradual decline with occasional surges of social activity; and its dwindling activities in the nineteenth century. Burnet writes with clarity and depth on the four main periods, taking the reader along the movement's history from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, Angus, the Borders, the Highlands and beyond. As the study approaches the end of the nineteenth century, Burnet addresses the ultimate question of why Quakerism failed in Scotland. An Epilogue, written by William H. Marwick, Clerk to the Friends' General Meeting for Scotland, expands still further onthe progress of Quakerism from 1850-1950. 'The pioneer Quakers were nothing if not strong in zeal to win converts, and the Movement had hardly obtained a footing in England before the 'dark carnal people' of Scotland were marked down for missionary enterprise.' Extract from Chapter 1.

The Myth of the Jacobite Clans was first published in 1995: a revolutionary book, it argued that British history had long sought to caricature Jacobitism rather than to understand it, and that the Jacobite Risings drew on extensive Lowland support and had a national quality within Scotland. The Times Higher Education Supplement hailed its author's 'formidable talents' and the book and its ideas fuelled discussions in The Economist and Scotland on Sunday, on Radio Scotland and elsewhere. The argument of the book has been widely accepted, although it is still ignored by media and heritage representations which seek to depoliticise the Rising of 1745.Now entirely rewritten with extensive new primary research, this new expanded second edition addresses the questions of the first in more detail, examining the systematic misrepresentation of Jacobitism, the impressive size of the Jacobite armies, their training and organization and the Jacobite goal of dissolving the Union, and bringing to life the ordinary Scots who formed the core of Jacobite support in the ill-fated Rising of 1745. Now, more than ever, The Myth of the Jacobite Clans sounds the call for an end to the dismissive sneers and pointless romanticisation which have dogged the history of the subject in Scotland for 200 years.

Redefinition of the Augustan age as a 'four nations' history using popular literary sources.