Protestant nonconformity was one of the most significant influences in nineteenth-century Britain, and has rightly received considerable attention from historians. At both local and national level much of its influence was channelled through, and inspired by, the activities and utterances of the professional minister. The names of the most successful were often household words in the Victorian period, and most have attracted a biographer. Yet neither the experiences nor the careers of these pulpit princes were necessarily those of the typical minister - almost nine thousand of them in 1900 - who served in the chapels of the main dissenting denominations. Using simple sampling and statistical techniques, Kenneth D. Brown sets out to recreate the lives, both private and professional, of this less celebrated but faithful and more representative body of men, rescuing them from the anonymity of the past.

Protestant nonconformity was one of the most significant aspects of 19th-century Britain. Focusing on some of the lesser known ministers of dissenting denominations, Brown recreates the lives, both private and professional, of an influential but heretofore anonymous group of religious leaders.

'solidly researched and persuasively argued ... The statistical material Brown has compiled is very valuable and will ensure that the book continues to be widely used for many years to come.' Journal of Modern History 64 (JUne 1992)