Theologian, pastor, controversialist, censor, and spy: Daniel Featley challenges any oversimplification of English Protestantism in the seventeenth century. Greg Salazar's intellectual biography of Featley serves as a first salvo in unpacking this complex English cleric.

Featley is known as a popular devotional writer of the period, who cared deeply about the spiritual well-being of his readers. His Ancilla pietatis, which began “for his own spiritual comfort,” went through six editions in thirteen years. He never avoided theological conflict, crossing swords with Catholics like Richard Smith, anti-Calvinists like Richard Montagu, and Baptists like Henry Denne. Despite his sharp tongue, Featley often took a moderate position and was an advocate for Reformed unity, situating his own career and thought between what he saw as religiopolitical extremes. With all of this in mind, Salazar casts Featley as an ideal “representative” (15) of Calvinist conformity before the English Civil War. Aiming at a biography that is inspired by Quentin Skinner's style of intellectual history, Salazar carefully frames Featley's theology within the details of his life and career. The chapters move chronologically rather than thematically, and Salazar keeps a careful balance between the social and political reasoning behind Featley's thought, decisions, and Calvinist theology.

After studying with John Rainolds at Corpus Christi College (Oxford) and assisting on the translation of the Authorized Version, Featley took up various ecclesiastical posts. He was chaplain for the English ambassador in Paris for a few years. Then, after a brief stint pastoring in Cornwall, which was “one of the most lonely and difficult times of his career” (26), Featley secured a more prestigious post as chaplain to Archbishop George Abbot and rector at Lambeth Palace. It was here that Featley was made an ecclesiastical censor for London's printing trade, a job he took to with gusto. In the same period, Featley began to distinguish himself as a chief polemicist, taking to task anyone who challenged either Reformed theology or episcopal polity.

Salazar's portrait of Featley draws from a variety of sources, including the first biography written by Featley's nephew John and Featley's substantial published oeuvre of over thirty books and pamphlets, as well as a hoard of manuscript letters, diaries, notebooks, and unpublished treatises. Salazar's analysis of the larger ecclesiastical context follows scholars like Peter Lake in understanding the ecclesiastical and doctrinal divides in the seventeenth century. Rejecting the perhaps overly simplistic “Anglican/puritan dichotomy” (5), Salazar recognizes various Protestant groups but asserts that “Reformed divines were the dominant group” (5). What this biography argues, quite compellingly, is that by understanding Daniel Featley's thought we can understand most of English Protestantism, or at least the leading Protestant ministers before the English Civil War. What emerges from the seven chapters is a leading Calvinist devoted to both his theology and episcopal polity but also decidedly ambitious, continually positioning himself for advancement. Throughout his career, Featley gravitated toward high-profile roles and took every opportunity to make a name for himself. He seemingly could not help but be in the mix of things. His dedication to Calvinist theology made him an “aggressive” (57) licenser of the London print trade and equally aggressive in skirting licensing laws when his ecclesiastical party was out of favor in the 1630s. The dual goals of advancement and theological commitment are also apparent in his joining of the early sessions of the Westminster Assembly. As a royalist and defender of episcopacy, Featley was an oddity at the Assembly but saw no need to keep his mouth shut, giving eight substantive speeches. However, Salazar admits that the reasons for his attendance are not at all clear. Featley's efforts may have been a last-ditch attempt at Reformed unity. Or they may have been his own professional maneuvering, keeping his options open as long as possible. Whatever the reason, Featley was eventually arrested as a spy and spent eighteen months in prison before he was released shortly before his death in 1645.

Sadly, for all the attention that Featley paid to his career, scholars have paid him very little attention. In fact, this biography is the first modern work dedicated to Featley's life and thought. There is a great deal more about Featley to unpack and many more questions to chase down. Fortunately, Salazar has blazed a helpful first trail, which is both well researched and well crafted.