Blood and Fire

For almost half a century, William and Catherine Booth have been virtually forgotten outside the ranks of the Salvation Army. For that the couple's early disciples must take some of the blame. They chose to portray the founding General and his wife as saints. As saints they were, at best, second-rate. As human beings they were remarkable by any standards -- heroic, confident, indomitable and full of hope and love for each other and their fellow men. They represented -- as much as Brunel or Bright, Paxton, Arnold, Livingstone or Newman -- much of what was best in nineteenth-century Britain. They deserve a place in the pantheon of Great Victorians. - p. 9.