The first music textbook designed for use in English schools, Turner's Manual is more than a historical curiosity. This, the first music textbook specifically designed for use in English schools, was published in 1833 under the auspices of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge - an evangelical body much concerned with "good works" andthe furtherance of sound educational principles. The author was an experienced and influential London teacher, a practising musician and an advocate of the teaching methods of Pestalozzi, still then unfamiliar to most teachers inthis country. Although the pioneer English teaching manual for schools, Turner's Manualis not just a minor historical curiosity.