Roy Hattersley on John Wesley and women:
Charismatic preachers have always attracted admirers. Not all of them have either enjoyed or encouraged infatuation with Wesley's reckless piety. He remained, into old age, dangerously susceptible to every woman who seemed to admire him. His misfortune was that he felt only able to express his emotions in the form of uplifting moral advice.
"His misfortune" -- I would have said, his luck.
More likely, not luck but self-control. Hurray for not having to read about Wesley behaving badly with women! I think Hattersley is a little harsh on him -- there's really no reason why it was discreditable of Wesley to write to young women with uplifting moral advice.
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