The early nineteenth-century was a golden era for the Scottish church. We are familiar with the names of Thomas Chalmers, Robert Murray M’Cheyne, the Bonar brothers, William C. Burns, William Cunningham and Rabbi Duncan, but that of John Milne of Perth (1807-68) is regrettably almost unknown today. Hopefully, this ‘new’ biography will put that right.

Milne’s ministry in Perth was in two parts, separated by four years as a missionary in India, after the death of his wife. His ministry was marked by great evangelistic zeal and success. His godliness was beyond (human) reproach, as befitted a friend of M’Cheyne. The account is full of fascinating (and profitable) anecdotes and extracts from Milne’s journals and letters to his friends. The author, Horatius Bonar, was not a mere recorder, but a close companion of Milne and a participant in many of the events he records, well able to observe and comment wisely on the virtues and struggles of his friend. This gives it a special usefulness. Read it if you would be informed, edified, challenged and encouraged in your daily walk with Christ.

John Legg