Many volumes deal with that terrible yet glorious period in the history of the Scottish church between the restoration of Charles II and the accession of William III, and Fair Sunshine deserves a place alongside the very best of them.

Whether Jock Purves is writing about James Guthrie at the beginning of that time of martyrdom and suffering or James Renwick at its very end, the same quality is present: these are character studies rather than a chronicle, and the men come off the page. For readers of Scottish church history, and for anyone who thinks conviction is cheap.