Historical information

This is the biography of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), a famous and influential English Protestant preacher who attracted a great following throughout the British Empire and U.S.A. He reached the masses by producing many religious tracts costing one penny and publishing his sermons and his John Ploughman books with their simple homilies. It appears that many of his books were in Warrnambool homes in the 19th century.

Significance

This book is of interest as it details the life of Charles Spurgeon, a person whose sermons and writings were familiar to many people in Warrnambool in the 19th century. The Warrnambool Examiner newspaper frequently carried news items about Spurgeon’s eloquent preaching and the crowds he was drawing. It also published some of his sermons and reported at length his final illness and death. One of the photograph albums in the collection of the Warrnambool and District Historical Society includes a photograph of Charles Spurgeon and his wife, thus appearing to indicate his popularity and influence extended as far as Warrnambool and district.

Physical description

This is a hard cover book of 330 pages. The cover has a mauve background with gold lettering on the front cover and spine. The front cover has an image in gold of the Spurgeon’s home and an image in black and grey of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. The spine has an image in gold, black and grey of Charles Spurgeon. The book has 19 chapters and 20 black and white illustrations. There are several pages at the back of the book advertising books by the publisher (Walter Scott Press).