Western Daughters in Eastern Lands: British Missionary Women in Asia

by Rosemary Seton

Despite the fact that by the early 20th century female missionaries began to outnumber their male counterparts, there are few publications that document the contributions of women to the missionary movement against a backdrop of civil unrest, famine, and war. Western Daughters in Eastern British Missionary Women in Asia provides accurate and insightful information to rectify this glaring omission.



In this book, author Rosemary Seton draws upon memoirs, letters, diaries, and mission records to create a unique and fascinating history of the British women whose sense of vocation took them to the East. As most British missionary women of this period were Anglicans, Baptists, Congregationalists, and Methodists, the focus is upon Protestant missionaries; Catholics are also included, however. Through these sources, a clear picture of women missionaries their social background and motivation; their lives on the mission-field and their place in mission hierarchies; their selection and training; and their educational, evangelical, and medical work. The book concludes with an assessment of their achievements and impact on foreign societies.

249 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2012

Reviews

[Dan Gorman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This elegantly written volume tells an awful lot about female British missionaries to India and China in the nineteenth century. British women excelled in education and medical roles, but were largely prevented from equality with men in the field of evangelism. Women had to carve out informal opportunities to truly evangelize. What the book lacks is a greater sense of context, especially what the native Chinese population thought of these female missionaries.