The Life and Journal of The Rev. Mr. Henry Alline

Stewart D. Gill was with Presbyterian Theological Hall in Melbourne, Australia.

This book is the latest in a series, entitled the Baptist Heritage in Atlantic Canada, put out under the auspices of Acadia Divinity College and the Baptist Historical Committee of the United Baptist Convention. They are to be commended for making available the writings of many eminent Baptist figures and contributing toward a greater understanding of the religious history of the Maritime region.

Henry Alline (1748-1784) was the leader of what has been called the “Great Awakening” in Nova Scotia. In his journal (originally published by Gilbert and Dean in 1806) he outlines the slow process of conversion that took place in his life to the point where he rejected the New England Calvinism that he was weaned upon. The remainder of the journal is devoted to his travels as an evangelist throughout Nova Scotia and finally back into the New England States.

The editors, James Beverley and Barry Moody, have provided an interesting and provocative introduction. They raise questions as to the role of the “Great Awakening” in Nova Scotian society, and the place of Henry Alline in the intellectual history of Canada. In so doing they challenge the interpretation provided by J.M. Bumsted in Henry Alline, 1748-1784 and Gordon Stewart and George Rawlyk in “A People Highly-Favoured of God”: The Nova Scotia Yankees and the American Revolution (Toronto: Macmillan, 1972).

Unfortunately, it is to be regretted that the Champlain Society has also recently published Alline’s journals in a collection entitled The Great Awakening in Nova Scotia (Toronto: Champlain Society, 1982); however, the paperback version will probably find a larger readership and is recommended to anyone interested in the social, religious, or intellectual history of Nova Scotia.