Female Piety

by John Angell James, Don Kistler (Editor)

Here is a delightfully practical book just for young women. James emphasizes the importance of developing godly character, feminine modesty, and early piety. He stresses the enduring value of personal religion and holiness in the heart. Young women are instructed how to prepare to be a good wife and a wise mother. This book is a rich resource to nurture the qualities of a "Proverbs 31" woman.

Genres: Christian, Christian Living, Womens, Nonfiction, Gender

328 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1854

About the author

John Angell James (1785 - 1859), was an English Nonconformist clergyman and writer.

Reviews

[Reagan Bon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why I hadn't heard of this book sooner, nor why it's not more widely read and discussed by Christian women. I have read a good number of books dealing with godly womanhood, marriage, and parenting; but most are shallow and inconsequential compared to this gem. Every page, every paragraph, is a feast for the soul. I am grateful to God that He has put this book into my possession, and I trust it will prove beneficial in years to come as new seasons of life call for a renewed application of James's wisdom.

[Claudia Rivera Guevarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Let the richest excellences that can adorn the female character--all the most rare and delicate beauties that are admired in it--be strung together upon the golden thread of eminent piety, and be hung like a necklace of heavenly pearls round your profession.”

This indeed is a young woman’s guide and friend! John Angell James brings the womanly virtues the Bible commends and commands into practicality. Some of his addresses and examples are dated, but in many ways this book is timeless. He continually points to the sufficiency of Scripture in every claim he makes, so I would absolutely recommend this book to young Christian women, married and unmarried. Lord willing, this will be a yearly read for me.

[Jordan Tiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a very helpful and worthwhile read. Some real gems of wisdom and insight from a very pastoral perspective. Reinforcing a lot of good stuff I’ve heard elsewhere. The chapters are largely stand-alone so will be easy to refer back to and re-read some of the sections that most stood out to me. I think they were possibly delivered as sermons first.

I didn’t realise this was more aimed younger and single women, so some of it wasn’t super relevant for me. But there was a fair bit of useful content for the young married woman and the young mother. This book is very practical, which I think is great, but at times it was *so* practical for the time it was written in that it loses its relevance for today (such as his instruction for governesses and family servants, not really something we practice today). This wasn’t a massive issue because in most cases there was still useful principles to glean for the modern day.

A few instances of squiffy doctrine, but nothing to ruin the overall thrust and value of the book, in my opinion.

[Abigail Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

The last two chapters were really the potent ones. In those chapters, James really helps the young mother to see the weight of her responsibility in raising immortal children. It was convicting to read the section about the commonplace mother—her need for self-control over her emotions (specifically anger) and complete reliance upon God to help in the her duties.

I wish there was an abridged and modernized version of this book today.

[Gabie Peacock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most precious, practical, and edifying book on biblical womanhood I've ever read. I wish I had read this book in my years as a single and newly converted Christian. I have highlighted half the book and continue to review and meditate on the goodness. Please read this book, friends.

[Tiffany Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read. John Angell James’ writing is beautiful while also being full of spiritual truths and practical help. I was inspired and encouraged as well as convicted and challenged.

[Janna Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

old language and so many hot takes that our culture today would rip his head off about. but i personally enjoyed it! it motivated me and legitimized the importance of mothers in all of society under Gods design

[Martyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I read it after having read James's Young Man's Friend and Guide Through Life to Immortality, which I'm afraid was rather a disappointment to me, not feeling particularly engaging. I feared this book might be similar, but much to my relief I found it was back to James at his best.

I would warmly commend it to men and women alike. If I had my way, this would be compulsory reading for practically everyone! It's good for the mature teenage men and women who are thinking about courting and want to prepare themselves for a future marriage, and for single young men who want to gain an idea what qualities they should be looking out for in a potential future spouse. Certainly in the circles I come from, this is a much neglected area of Christian teaching, and young people are pretty much left to their own natural inclinations when it comes to relationships.

I would also make it compulsory reading (along with James's 'Family Monitor - A Help to Domestic Happiness), for couples desiring to be married, and would refuse to allow people to marry who hadn't yet read it! Ideally such a book as this should be read well in advance of marriage, to allow the readers sufficient time to mature spiritually themselves, and to think seriously about what marriage is all about and what it entails. It's not merely about falling in love and living happily ever after, but committing to serve one another, and serve God together, for life. If a new couple desire to start out as they mean to go on, then they need advanced warning of what a godly family looks like so that from the moment they are married family worship and spiritual discipline can start, before bad habits are allowed to form, before neglect of these things becomes commonplace.

I've got feminist friends who would probably detest the idea of such a book as this, immediately fearing the worst, but liberals often rebuke the conservatives for judging things that they haven't tried for themselves, and if that were a justifiable argument, then in this case we could reverse the charge and say that liberals oughtn't to condemn such books as this without having read it first. And I would hope that whatever their feelings at the end of the day, they would like John Angell James and his gracious way in dealing with the subject. I would hope that all people would find the image he paints of marriage to be beautiful, and something worth striving for.

Many of the teachings for women are specifically applicable to men also, when it comes to personal piety. Where there are distinct roles, then it is useful for men to know exactly what it is fair to expect of their wives, and to see how the husbands and wives are meant to interact, how they are to divide their labours and responsibilities, and so live in harmony and have a household run with the greatest efficiency possible without either party trampling upon the authority of the other in their own respective roles and spheres. It's all very well giving men a book about how they are to behave in marriage, and give a separate book to women, but unless they see clearly what they can expect of each other, or what their duties are towards one another, see how their roles complement one another and fit together, you could end up with two people trying to always do things their own way with little consideration for what their spouse may be trying to achieve. They have their own responsibilities to fulfil, but also have to assist their spouses as they seek to fulfil their own responsibilities. It's good for the men to have an insight into what their wives are hoping to achieve in marriage. A couple who studied this book together would learn and grow together as they sought to make their married life as great a pleasure and blessing to one another as possible, unified in mind and spirit, and together glorifying God.

Parents might find great help in this book when it comes to teaching and training their children, giving them guidance as to what attitudes and principles they should be trying to instil into their children to raise them into young men and women who are as prepared for marriage as possible, who are mature enough to form appropriate attachments and behave in a seemly manner both before and after marriage.

Pastors ought to be made aware of this book. They could use it as a basis for their own course of sermons, or they could make sure they had a copy to spare which they could readily lend out to any people in their congregation who they felt could benefit from it.

John Angell James, as is usual, speaks in a lively and engaging manner, full of feeling, full of compassion and consideration, and full of wisdom and plain common sense, and practical in the extreme, and all based on sound principles.

I'll close with a quote from the opening paragraph of the book:
"Woman is the mother of the human race; our companion, counsellor, and comforter in the pilgrimage of life; or our tempter, scourge, and destroyer. Our sweetest cup of earthly happiness, or our bitterest draught of sorrow, is mixed and administered by her hand. She not only renders smooth or rough our path to the grave, but helps or hinders our progress to immortality. In heaven we shall bless God for her aid in assisting us to reach that blissful state; or amidst the torments of unutterable woe in another region, we shall deplore the fatality of her influence."

[Ashley Byers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not finish this book because every page after the first chapter made me want to hurl my Kindle across the room. I do, however, now understand the bait & switch roots of the complimentarian movement better.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The entire book is gold. It holds high God's call for women, and I plan to re-read it multiple times— especially chapter 3.

[S.G. Dewey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. Written in the 1800s but only a few random moments are out of date.
Otherwise a very encouraging and edifying book. There is joy and hope in the work we are to do!

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm constantly looking for good Christian guides for young women. Unfortunately, they're difficult to find. Some seem to be too marriage minded, others too supportive of singleness. Some only address a few issues that young women face. Some try to push an agenda. This book just might make the top of my list. It's only drawback is the significant vocabulary necessary to understand it. I found myself repeatedly wishing I'd read it at 15 instead of 25, but realizing I wouldn't have been ready for it then. I would have had a very difficult time getting into it now if I hadn't read numerous fiction books from the same era and really wanted to know this author's perspective. Some of the first chapters specifically address topics of the day and take some thought to apply the principles to current life. He does an amazing job showing the beauty of duty. He shows responsibility with its accompanying joy. He strikes a balance in so many areas where an author will often simply try to push his opinion: dress, attractiveness, femininity, financial support, honoring parents. He always brings each subject back to its source: Christ and His Word. The book is well worth reading and re-reading though I was originally skeptical of the author of the forward's opinion that Christian women ought to read it every year. The last two chapters elegantly and carefully expound the Bible sisters Mary and Martha and the portrait of the virtuous woman from Proverbs 31. Those chapters alone make the book worth it.

[Heather Denigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the time, books for women on Christian living or 'Biblical womanhood/femininity' focus on a list of virtues, spiritual disciplines, lots of character sketches and case studies -- plus syrupy rhapsodies about motherhood. This one is different. This is no Fordyces Sermons.
John Angell James starts out with our humanity. Ultimately we each stand individually before God; our gender and the consequential dance of our roles and responsibilities as men and women take second place. James begins with attacking the devaluation of women in pagan culture. So rarely have I encountered a robust defense of women outside of feminism -- a real defense without bitterness. I found it very refreshing. And it made it easy to overlook the occasional Victorian purple prose.
For a young woman, single, upper-mid twenties, I found this a particularly encouraging, hopeful book because it points to what I can be in this current season, not just what I ought to do.

[Giovanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute gem. I expected it to be rife with outdated and cringe-worthy views on women, and that could not have been further from the truth. I have discovered that despite the very real (and very serious) legal and social restrictions that women faced back then, they were also respected far beyond anything I have experienced today as a modern woman. Despite the fact that I’m Catholic and I had to sit through small rants against Catholicism (based, as usual, on misconceptions rather than on one of any of the true flaws) I found the perspective to be unique, inspirational, and I wanted to copy down or highlight every other sentence. The fact that a man wrote this book blows my mind; I have never heard a modern man or woman who loves women as well as this man does. This is required reading for every woman.

[Doug Post]

An excellent read on godly character and lifestyle for young women. The dated style made it a somewhat difficult read for Emily and I.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dry and hard to understand at times, but the wisdom and instruction found in this book is SO good!!!!