This collection of lectures by Catherine Booth and William Booth form a passionate call to Christians to improve the dire social status of society's poor and downtrodden.

Along with her husband William Booth, who assisted in the preparation and publication of this splendid book, Catherine Booth was a fervent supporter of Christian charity; extending support and aid to help the disadvantaged was seen by the author to be a crucial tenet of good character. Throughout her life, Catherine Booth would point to Christ as a prime example of a Christian virtue and self-sacrifice.

At the time Catherine Booth wrote these talks in the late 19th century, levels of poverty in the United States and Europe were abysmally great. It is by casting her gaze back to the life of Jesus Christ that Booth sees a clear inspiration for all in the face of such degradation. Only when Christians unite in opposition to poverty will social reform and improvements take hold in wider society.