John Read Releases CATHERINE BOOTH: LAYING THE THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF A RADICAL MOVEMENT

38-40,000 people attended the funeral service of Catherine Booth, the wife of General Booth of The Salvation Army, prompting The Banner to comment: "We suppose that no woman, crowned or uncrowned, has ever before passed to her grave amidst such vast manifestations of sorrow and sympathy".

Catherine Booth's achievements - as a revivalist, social reformer, champion of women's rights, and, with her husband William Booth, co-founder of the Salvation Army - were widely recognized in her lifetime. However, Catherine Booth's life, work and teaching has since been largely neglected. This neglect has extended to her theological ideas, even though they were critical to the formation of Salvationism, the spirituality of the movement she co-founded. This book examines the implicit theology that supported Catherine Booth's Salvationist spirituality and reveals the ethical concerns at the heart of her soteriology as well as the integral relationship between the social and evangelical aspects of Christian mission in her thought.

John Read re-establishes Catherine Booth as a significant figure from the Victorian era. As "Mother of The Salvation Army" she was a British theologian and church leader with a rare if not unique intellectual and theological perspective, not only that of a woman but also as the conduit through whom Salvationist spirituality was first formed.

This new biography is essential reading for any with an interest in nineteenth century theology, the theology and history of the Salvation Army or the development of women's rights.

About the Author: John Read is a Salvation Army officer, currently serving as the Army's ecumenical officer for the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

About the Publisher: The Lutterworth Press has been trading since the eighteenth century and is one of the longest established and best-known independent publishers in the United Kingdom. It has been associated with James Clarke & Co. since 1984.

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