the third edition, corrected and much enlarged, small quarto, xxii, 66, 1-116 (signature I repeated); viii, 178, x pp., disbound,  else a good copy.

Three editions appeared in the same year, all are rare and extremely difficult to find in good, perfect condition, the third part being nearly always wanting. The most famous work of Thomas Edwards (c. 1599-1648) Presbyterian Controversialist and "true hammer of the heretics." This work, at the time of its publication created a sensation in Church circles, relates considerably to New England and the dissensions among the different sects there. There are references to Hugh Peters, Samuel Gorton, Anne Hutchinson, and other New Englanders connected with the separatist movements in that colony. The work is far from being only a work of theological argument and discussion. A very large part is devoted to letters, relations of personal experiences, etc., which give an interesting picture of the times and are frequently most amusing. Copies with all three parts are scarce. The work is also important in the context of the English Revolution (see Hughes, Ann, Gangraena and the Struggle for the English Revolution. Oxford: 2004).

This third edition differs considerably from the first and second. The second part although still having a separate title-page has no separate license leaf, the license being printed on the verso of the title-page as in Part 1. From the title of part I reading "The First and Second Part of Gangraena" it is plain that in this edition the first two parts were issued together and probably before the appearance of part III., which has both separate title-page and license leaf as in the two previous editions. The rarity of part III may perhaps be accounted for by its not having appeared until after the issue of the Third Edition of Parts I and II. It is probably for this reason that it is so seldom found with the book more especially in the case of the first and second editions. Wing E227; European Americana 646/54