Diary and Letters of Edward Irving

Synopsis: The nineteenth-century Scottish theologian and church leader Edward Irving has been the subject of a remarkable resurgence of interest among historians and theologians in recent decades. A friend of Thomas Carlyle and a household name in his lifetime, Edward Irving became involved with a group headed by the scion of Drummonds Bank who were convinced there was to be an imminent second coming. Irving became caught up in this idea, and it not only changed his life but resulted in his expulsion from the Scottish Presbysterian Church. His life journey, including his personal loves and losses and early death in 1834, we can trace from his short diary, kept as a young man, and his letters, published here for the first time. Endorsements: "As an increasing number of scholars are at last prepared to take this remarkable man seriously, so this definitive collection of Irving's correspondence, meticulously compiled from an impressive variety of archived manuscripts as well as printed sources, will be of immense value. The brief diary is a bonus as it casts a fascinating light on Irving (aged eighteen) no less than on life in the Cathcart household. Barbara Waddington has performed an invaluable service." --Timothy Stunt, author of From Awakening to Secession: Radical Evangelicals in Switzerland and Britain 1815-35 "In this meticulously edited book, Barbara Waddington has brought to light a large number of unpublished letters by Edward Irving, some from private collections, as well as printing for the first time his seven-week diary written in the summer of 1810. . . . The new material adds richly to the picture of a fervently devout young man, grappling from an early age with questions about the nature of Christ, deeply convinced of his vocation as a preacher, and combining humility . . . with an openly avowed ambition to make his mark." --Rosemary Ashton, Professor of English Language and Literature, University College London Author Biography: Barbara Waddington is Archivist at Lumen United Reformed Church, Regent's Square, London; the building in which Edward Irving's church used to meet.