It is hardly surprising that Whitefield's journals were among the most controversial and widely read works of the eighteenth century. In 1737, when only a twenty-two year old Oxford graduate, his voice startled the nation like a trumpet blast. Attacked by clergy, press and mob alike, Whitefield nevertheless became the most popular and influential preacher of the age. At a time when London had a population of less than 700,000, he could hold spellbound 20,000 people at a time at Moorfields and Kennington Common. The journals cover the first twenty-six years of Whitefield's life, giving us details of his personal history and an eyewitness account of the spiritual awakening which broke upon England and America in 1739 and 1740.
