was a minister in the Church of England and one of the leaders of the Methodist movement. John Wesleyan considered Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers, the subject of the book, to be the ideal Methodist woman: not only did she embody Methodist morals, she also engaged in the avid promotion of Methodism at the side of her husband, a Wesleyan itinerant. Significance Methodism and printing The late-eighteenth century London printing scene provides some clues as to why the Wesleyan Conference Office printed this tract. London at this time was a hotbed of printing presses: in 1724 there were only seventy-five printing presses, but by 1760 this number had shot up to over two hundred. Books had to be cheap, fresh, and quick to read; people were accustomed to sensationalized political newspapers, editorial tracts, and dailies—a shorter book, rather than a lengthy tome, was more suited to the intellectual culture of the time. As a printed book, The Character and Death fits a cultural trend; as a religious book, it was revolutionary. Theological books in the eighteenth century were heavy, expensive, and dull, and preachers remained in one parish and did not travel. John Wesley's revolutionary approach was to send his ministers on circuits to the masses, laden with books that were small, cheap and written in a popular style. Wesley supported himself through his publishing empire and bade his U.S. followers to use his press as well. Itinerant Methodists such as Rogers' husband would have carried books with them to sell, supplementing their meagre stipends. Since every minister was also a subscription agent, the fact that Minister George Whitfield was listed as the book's agent was customary of Wesley's system. Wesley was also revolutionary in that he encouraged journal-keeping, not only by preachers but also by ordinary Methodist society members, both men and women. Wesley believed that the discipline in journal-writing was central to the “method” of individual spiritual growth in Methodism. However, the spiritual journal of Hester Ann Rogers was the only major English publication of a woman's journal. Although Rogers published A Short Account after Wesley's death, Wesley himself intended to serve as production authority over her book. Early Methodism and rhetoric John Wesley's Methodism helped carve a new space for women's discourse in the public religious arena; his religious innovations created “spaces, sanctions, and support for women to speak in public and write for publication.” Wesley's Methodism was