The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living provides a manual of Christian practice, which has retained its place with devout readers over the past 300 years. It was written by Jeremy Taylor (1613 - 1667), a clergyman in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression and was often presented as a model of prose writing. Holy Living is sometimes called the "twin" of Taylor's other well-known book Holy Dying.