Anne Bradstreet: A Guided Tour of the Life and Thought of a Puritan Poet. By Heidi L. Nichols (Phillipsburg, PA: P & R Publishing, 2006), 210pp. $14.00Heidi L. Nichos (M.A. Villanova Universitty, Ph.D. Indiana
University of Pennsylvania) is assistant professor of English at Lancaster Bible
College. She is the author of The Fashioning of Middle-Class America:
Sartain's Union Magazine of Literature and Art and Antebellum
America.
A few months ago I was preparing a series of lesson to be taught to our youth group which included introductory matter about the Puritans, as well as some biographical information of a few notable persons, when the thought crossed my mind that I didn’t know of any female, Puritan personalities to introduce to our teen girl (we have an extremely small youth group at this point). After some diligent research I discovered that there is, in fact, at least one female Puritan with whom we can become acquainted. If you think about it, the reason we know about most of the Puritans is because we have their writings. Anne Bradstreet, a female Puritan, was also a writer. Because she wrote so much, and because her brother-in-law secreted some of her writings to London and had them published, we now have a marvelous glimpse into the life of a female Puritan.
There are a number of scholars who have studied the intricacies of Bradstreet’s works, devising all sorts of conclusions about her view of femininity. Bradstreet, for sure, has been a favorite of man feminists who laud her as a cover girl for their ideas.
Heidi L. Nichols, being well versed in all of this scholarship, has provided for conservative Christianity a delightful “guided tour of the life and thought” of Anne Bradstreet. And as an able tour guide, Nichols carefully fills out the storyline with pertinent background information on the times in both Old England and New England. She even includes many portraits of key persons and images of the title pages of the key editions of Bradstreet’s works.
Part 2 of this book is a collection of Selected Works with explanatory introductions. Included in this section is a chronology of Anne Bradstreet and Her Times.
A thorough bibliography, notes About the Illustrations, and Index of Persons, and an Index of Bradstreet’s Works are all provided at the end of the book.
“Why should you read Anne Bradstreet?” is the question with which Heidi Nichols begins this book. This is the question I had when I found her name and realized that she was a Puritan writer. Nichols answers this question by noting that “Bradstreet’s life and work, revealing her vibrant intellectualism and her outspoken love for her husband, challenge stereotypes many still have of the Puritans. And, as an orthodox Puritan, Bradstreet adds another dimension to the study of women in church history” (13).
“Why wouldn’t we want to read Anne Bradstreet,” asks Nichols, “or anyone else for that matter, who reminds us that in spite of our twenty-first-century context, we face the same realities of life—of mortality, of redemption, and of the role of grace? Perhaps Bradstreet’s probing and self-reflection in light of these, a characteristically Puritan discipline, will inspire us toward the same, whether through literature or otherwise” (15). I must say that I have been inspired toward the same after taking this guided tour through the life and writings of Anne Bradstreet. If you are unfamiliar with the life of Bradstreet or are looking for a place to begin your study of her life, this is the book to choose.
There are a number of scholars who have studied the intricacies of Bradstreet’s works, devising all sorts of conclusions about her view of femininity. Bradstreet, for sure, has been a favorite of man feminists who laud her as a cover girl for their ideas.
Heidi L. Nichols, being well versed in all of this scholarship, has provided for conservative Christianity a delightful “guided tour of the life and thought” of Anne Bradstreet. And as an able tour guide, Nichols carefully fills out the storyline with pertinent background information on the times in both Old England and New England. She even includes many portraits of key persons and images of the title pages of the key editions of Bradstreet’s works.
Part 2 of this book is a collection of Selected Works with explanatory introductions. Included in this section is a chronology of Anne Bradstreet and Her Times.
A thorough bibliography, notes About the Illustrations, and Index of Persons, and an Index of Bradstreet’s Works are all provided at the end of the book.
“Why should you read Anne Bradstreet?” is the question with which Heidi Nichols begins this book. This is the question I had when I found her name and realized that she was a Puritan writer. Nichols answers this question by noting that “Bradstreet’s life and work, revealing her vibrant intellectualism and her outspoken love for her husband, challenge stereotypes many still have of the Puritans. And, as an orthodox Puritan, Bradstreet adds another dimension to the study of women in church history” (13).
“Why wouldn’t we want to read Anne Bradstreet,” asks Nichols, “or anyone else for that matter, who reminds us that in spite of our twenty-first-century context, we face the same realities of life—of mortality, of redemption, and of the role of grace? Perhaps Bradstreet’s probing and self-reflection in light of these, a characteristically Puritan discipline, will inspire us toward the same, whether through literature or otherwise” (15). I must say that I have been inspired toward the same after taking this guided tour through the life and writings of Anne Bradstreet. If you are unfamiliar with the life of Bradstreet or are looking for a place to begin your study of her life, this is the book to choose.
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