David Livingstone has gone down in history as a fearless explorer and missionary, hacking his way through the forests of Africa to bring light to the people - and also to free them from slavery. But who was he, and what was he actually like?"He was an extraordinary character," according to biographer Stephen Tomkins, spectacularly bad at personal relationships, at least with white people, possessed of infinite self-belief, courage, and restlessness. He was an almos...

The Clapham Sect was a group of evangelical Christians, prominent in England from about 1790 to 1830, who campaigned for the abolition of slavery and promoted missionary work at home and abroad.The group centred on the church of John Venn, rector of Clapham in south London. Its members included William Wilberforce, Henry Thornton, James Stephen, Zachary Macaulay and others.Stephen Tomkins tells the fascinating story of the group as one of a web of family re...

An authoritative and immersive history of the far-reaching events in England that led to the sailing of the Mayflower.2020 brings readers the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower—the ship that took the Pilgrim Fathers to the New World. It is a foundational event in American history, but it began as an English story, which pioneered the idea of religious freedom.The illegal underground movement of Protestant separatists from Elizabeth I...

Have you ever wanted accessible introductions to the key figures of Christian history? In this book two expert authors draw on biblical scholarship to bring Jesus and Paul and their worlds vividly to life.Jesus and His WorldJesus Christ is probably the single most influential figure in world history, but who was this preacher from Nazareth? Can we be sure he existed? And if he did, what was the world like in which he lived?Placing Je...