"takes a worthy place among several other volumes devoted to the eighteenth century; indeed, it has a lot more merit than some of them, with a unity and cohesion not always found in composite works... L. M. Cullen's essay on Catholic social classes under the penal laws and D. J. Dickson's on Catholics and trade demonstrate very clearly that the social composition of the Catholic community and its response to the pressures on it were much more, complex than the traditional view has portrayed them. This conclusion is reinforced by Power's searching examination of conversions throughout the century. His conclusion that conversion helped to maintain the Catholic propertied interest and that converts were not fully integrated into the Protestant establishment removes another longstanding misconception." J.L. McCracken, English Historical Review.
