An Introduction to Jane Lead: Freedom and Sophiology

I don't think enough people know about Jane Lead. This introduction is an excerpt from my book, Literature and the Encounter with God in Post-Reformation England (Ashgate, 2014). Profoundly influenced by the mysticism of Jacob Boehme, Jane Lead (1624 – 1704) was a visionary mystic, a prolific author, and the leader of the Philadelphian Society, a religious group named for one of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation. In her evangelical mission, Lead directed the Society toward “the Refor...