The classic text of Christian reverence by Richard Baxter is presented to the reader unabridged with all sixteen chapters, and the conclusion. Written by Baxter as he lay suffering from a serious illness, The Saints' Everlasting Rest may be interpreted both as a final correspondence between the author and God, and as a message from Baxter who sought to give a pure example of devotion to all Christians. He endured much persecution in life, and was on multiple occasions incarcerated for his beliefs. As a leading figure in the Puritan movement of the 17th century, Richard Baxter spent his life teaching the Christian faith. A reformer who sought to install rigor and observance of faith in the Church of England, Baxter's sudden and unexpected descent to illness steeled him with the devotion to write this book. He had hitherto spent his life as a preacher with some proclivity to writing: his illness however instilled an urgency which accelerated his written output in service of God.

The classic text of Christian reverence by Richard Baxter is presented to the reader unabridged with all sixteen chapters, and the conclusion. Written by Baxter as he lay suffering from a serious illness, The Saints' Everlasting Rest may be interpreted both as a final correspondence between the author and God, and as a message from Baxter who sought to give a pure example of devotion to all Christians. He endured much persecution in life, and was on multiple occasions incarcerated for his beliefs. As a leading figure in the Puritan movement of the 17th century, Richard Baxter spent his life teaching the Christian faith. A reformer who sought to install rigor and observance of faith in the Church of England, Baxter's sudden and unexpected descent to illness steeled him with the devotion to write this book. He had hitherto spent his life as a preacher with some proclivity to writing: his illness however instilled an urgency which accelerated his written output in service of God.

The musica secreta or concerto delle dame of Duke Alfonso II d'Este, an ensemble of virtuoso female musicians that performed behind closed doors at the castello in Ferrara, is well-known to music history. Their story is often told by focussing on the Duke's obsessive patronage and the exclusivity of their music. This book examines the music-making of four generations of princesses, noblewomen and nuns in Ferrara, as performers, creators, and patrons from a new perspective. It rethinks the relationships between polyphony and song, sacred and secular, performer and composer, patron and musician, court and convent. With new archival evidence and analysis of music, people, and events over the course of the century, from the role of the princess nun musician, Leonora d'Este, to the fate of the musica secreta's jealously guarded repertoire, this radical approach will appeal to musicians and scholars alike.