claims that Coke's descriptions of Rogers' unwavering filial loyalty and wifely devotion are factually misrepresented: Coke clearly took liberties with Rogers' life in order to conform to the new Methodist agenda. Coke also stresses the fact that Rogers did not “presume to preach,” content to spend her time on her writing: “writing, seems to be her peculiar talent; and she took great delight therein, even from her childhood. And yet, she never, on that account, or, indeed, on any other, once neglected any part of her domestic duty.” James Rogers' appendix to Coke's sermon follows the same model: he describes her Bible study, her visits to the sick, her public prayer, and her small group leadership. He also emphasized the fact that she never “took a text” or preached. Rogers also stresses the importance of their marriage through anecdotes as well as terms of endearment such as “my dear companion,” “best helpmate,” “one of the most valuable and faithful wives,’ “best help in spiritual things,” “ever my comforter,” “the centre and constant spring of all my domestic happiness” and “faithful love.” While Hester Rogers leaves her marital life and public duties out of her own biography, these are the very subjects which her husband, James Rogers, emphasizes in his eulogy. Explicitly, The Character and Death is a eulogy of a model Methodist woman. Implicitly, it was rife with political agenda; Coke used his sermon to reaffirm the new direction Methodism was taking in regards to women; James Rogers subsequently reassured women that by retracting from their preaching roles they would find satisfying marital intimacy, praise from their spouse, and the church's approval. The story of The Character and Death is one of an institution—Methodism—and how it used, changed, produced, and distributed Rogers' text to shape (and limit) women's roles, women's discourse, and women's lives in Methodist communities. References Bibliography E. Dorothy Graham, ‘Rogers , Hester Ann (1756–1794)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Sept 2004 Coke, Thomas. The Character and Death of Mrs. Hester Ann Rogers: Set Forth in a Sermon, Preached on the Occasion in Spitalfiels-Chapl; London, on Sunday, Oct. 26, 1794. London: Printed at the Conference Office, G. Story, sold by G. Whitfield, 1794. An Account of the Experience of Hester Ann Rogers, and her Funeral Sermon, Thomas Coke and Hester Ann Rogers, BiblioBazaar 2008, ; Bastian Books (2008), Christian sermons History of Methodism 18th-century Christian texts Methodist texts