Sermons very fruitful, godly and learned: preaching in the Reformation c. 1535-c. 1553 (review)

Short notices Edgeworth, Roger, Sermons very fruitful, godly and learned: preaching in the Reformation c. 1535-c. 1553, ed. Janet Wilson, Cambridge, D. S. Brewer, 1993; cloth; pp. ix, 486; R R P US$110.00. Janet Wilson's edition usefully fills a gap in the materials for study of sixteenth-century English Catholic devotional writings. It makes available carefully edited texts of Edgeworth's sermons and prefaces them with an Introduction which is extremely thorough. After an account of the textual and critical histories of the sermons, the Introduction proceeds to a biography of Edgeworth. Wilson persuasively argues that it 'was undoubtedly due to his prudence andtenacitythat [Edgeworth] managed to survive three decades of religious and social upheaval, and to conclude his career with greater dignity of office' (p. 35). His prudence andtenacityare further demonstrated in the subsequent discussion of his responses to contemporary changes in doctrine and modes of worship. Particularly suggestive in that section of the Introduction is Wilson's contrast between Thomas More's defence of images and that by Edgeworth (p. 40). The survey of the sources of the sermons is also valuable, although one might wish that the examination of Erasmian influences on the sermons were longer (p. 56). Just so, in the discussion of how Edgeworth used the Bible, one might wish for a closer look at Edgeworth's handling of typology. The concluding section of the Introduction considers the style of the sermons. Edgeworth's reputation as a prose stylist is well served by Wilson's close study of his rhetorical strategies, her conclusion raising several issues for further research. The texts that her edition provides, followed by a helpful commentary and glossary, will make that research a great deal easier than it would otherwise have been. Wilson's book is a substantial achievement. A. D. Cousins Department of Englsih and Linguistics Macquarie University P A R E R G O N ns 14.1 (July 1996) ...