The year 2003 marked the 300th anniversary of the birth of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.  Many new studies of the man and the movement were published at the time. As a member of the Mid-Warwickshire Branch of the HA, a retired history lecturer and as a Methodist myself, I was invited to contribute this book on John Wesley and the first century of Methodism in Coventry. The resulting publication was launched at a public lecture at the Woodside Avenue Church on June 17th 2003, Wesley’s birthday. It examines the social and economic backgrounds of the early Methodists in Coventry and their struggles to survive despite internal disputes and a more widespread local hostility.