'Religion in this period has been recovering from earlier neglect, yet students have lacked an adequate modern survey ... this work fills the gap excellently ... Gibson has provided an able synthesis of recent scholarship, with an enlivening spin of his own. Much is judicious ... the book argues a case that demands attention.' - English Historical Review

'This positive re-evaluation of its subject by one of the more thoughtful modern historians of the Church of England represents an important contribution to the revisionist theme that has dominated scholarship over the last decade. Gibson's perceptive account offers an overarching interpretation of the Church that provides an excellent context for more detailed local studies.' - Jeremy Black, Southern History, 2001

'This book is an impressive and well-documented survey of the fortunes of the Church of England between the Glorious Revolution and the first Reform Act ... a valuable and polished work which will be of considerable interest to sepcialists andto students.' - British Journal for Eighteenth Century Studies