What do you think?
Rate this book
William Penn: A Life
On March 4, 1681, King Charles II granted William Penn a charter for a new American colony. Pennsylvania was to be, in its founder's words, a bold "Holy Experiment" in religious freedom and toleration, a haven for those fleeing persecution in an increasingly intolerant England and across Europe. An activist, political theorist, and the proprietor of his own colony, Penn would become a household name in the New World, despite spending just four years on American soil.
Though Penn is an iconic figure in both American and British history, controversy swirled around him during his lifetime. In his early twenties, Penn became a Quaker--an act of religious as well as political rebellion that put an end to his father's dream that young William would one day join the English elite. Yet Penn went on to a prominent public career as a Quaker spokesman, political agitator, and royal courtier. At the height of his influence, Penn was one of the best-known Dissenters in England and walked the halls of power as a close ally of King James II. At his lowest point, he found himself jailed on suspicion of treason, and later served time in debtor's prison.
Despite his importance, William Penn has remained an elusive character--many people know his name, but few know much more than that. Andrew R. Murphy offers the first major biography of Penn in more than forty years, and the first to make full use of Penn's private papers. The result is a complex portrait of a man whose legacy we are still grappling with today. At a time when religious freedom is hotly debated in the United States and around the world, William Penn's Holy Experiment serves as both a beacon and a challenge.
Though Penn is an iconic figure in both American and British history, controversy swirled around him during his lifetime. In his early twenties, Penn became a Quaker--an act of religious as well as political rebellion that put an end to his father's dream that young William would one day join the English elite. Yet Penn went on to a prominent public career as a Quaker spokesman, political agitator, and royal courtier. At the height of his influence, Penn was one of the best-known Dissenters in England and walked the halls of power as a close ally of King James II. At his lowest point, he found himself jailed on suspicion of treason, and later served time in debtor's prison.
Despite his importance, William Penn has remained an elusive character--many people know his name, but few know much more than that. Andrew R. Murphy offers the first major biography of Penn in more than forty years, and the first to make full use of Penn's private papers. The result is a complex portrait of a man whose legacy we are still grappling with today. At a time when religious freedom is hotly debated in the United States and around the world, William Penn's Holy Experiment serves as both a beacon and a challenge.
488 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2018
28 people are currently reading
309 people want to read
About the author
Andrew R. Murphy
18 books4 followersAndrew R. Murphy is Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
He received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has taught at Villanova University, the University of Chicago, and Valparaiso University.
His research focuses on the interconnections between religious and political thought and practice, most particularly in England and America.
He received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has taught at Villanova University, the University of Chicago, and Valparaiso University.
His research focuses on the interconnections between religious and political thought and practice, most particularly in England and America.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 11, 2019
William Penn laid the foundation for a religion that continues to have world-wide influence and for what is now the 5th most populous state in the US. Andrew Murphy shows how these achievements were, for Penn, debt, stress, imprisonment and disappointment (“grief”, “trouble” and “poverty” in Penn’s own words, p. 346). The character of Penn is lost in the flood of information, but you do glimpse his remarkable ability to persevere through incredible setbacks.
Having a charter for a colony from a king (in this case, both Charles II and James II) did not guarantee a colony. While I cannot recount all the problems, Penn's included: border disputes with Lord Baltimore’s claims for what is now Maryland; the need to negotiate with the native tribes; the need to get some kind of clearance from the territorial governors and continuous dealings with a Board of Trade that could regulate or tax him out of business. Adding to this were problems of internal dissent such as the disputes between Anglican colonists and Quakers and issues associated with the ownership of the parcels.
The above only begins to define the environment in which Penn attempted to lead the Quakers and his colony through 4 different monarchs and uncountable local changes. Here are a few take-aways in lieu of a review:
• Murphy quotes from Penn’s documents from the late 1600’s that presage the foundations of Bill of Rights some 100 years later: that government should not only tolerate different religions but should guarantee the right of individuals to hold their own beliefs. He was also a critical thinker on issues facing Europe.
• Penn had some bottom lines that cost him dearly: He continued to support the Quaker principles of not taking up arms or swearing oaths (i.e. of loyalty, etc.). This made him a social outcast in England and made life difficult among non-Quaker residents of his colony who feared violence from the French, Spanish and native Americans.
• Penn was plagued with money problems throughout. Reasons he could not collect his rents from either Ireland or Pennsylvania may have been poor management, but the maneuvers by his enemies in England regarding his charter,the various ownership disputes (which parcel was sold to which individual) and the poverty of the colonists were surely factors.
• Quakerism gave women a firm place. In a time when marriage was initiated on behalf of daughters by a patriarch, a Quaker committee approved marriages and it seemed the women’s meetings had a big say in this. Penn consults women including King James’ daughter in exile. He had full confidence in his wife, Hannah, whom he named as executrix of his estate and permitted her to serve with power of attorney after his stroke.
• Murphy doesn’t draw a clear line, but it is implied that the Quaker “meeting” can be a derivative of how the Quakers met the legal requirement that preaching could only take place in a Church of England.
• Penn made only two trips to the colony that aggregated to a total of 4 years. He owned slaves and upon leaving for England, despite his need for cash, he freed them and did not sell them.
• His administrator, James Logan, seems ideal. It’s too bad all the others he relied upon were not so loyal, honest and hard working.
- Ownership and government issues were never clear... perhaps to the participants as well as me. At the end Penn surrendered the colony to the crown(?) but kept its government. It is hard to know what this means since his heirs are cited as performing ownership responsibilities of the colony until the Revolution.
In reading this, it appears that Penn has not been given the attention he deserves as a trailblazer in the thinking that wended its way into the ideas that made the US. Not only did he think big and new thoughts, he acted upon them. He made great sacrifices for the both his colony of tolerance and his Quaker beliefs.
The five stars for this book are for the tremendous research and scope the writer brings to this biography. Due to its detail, the book is only recommended for those who want an in depth report on William Penn.
Having a charter for a colony from a king (in this case, both Charles II and James II) did not guarantee a colony. While I cannot recount all the problems, Penn's included: border disputes with Lord Baltimore’s claims for what is now Maryland; the need to negotiate with the native tribes; the need to get some kind of clearance from the territorial governors and continuous dealings with a Board of Trade that could regulate or tax him out of business. Adding to this were problems of internal dissent such as the disputes between Anglican colonists and Quakers and issues associated with the ownership of the parcels.
The above only begins to define the environment in which Penn attempted to lead the Quakers and his colony through 4 different monarchs and uncountable local changes. Here are a few take-aways in lieu of a review:
• Murphy quotes from Penn’s documents from the late 1600’s that presage the foundations of Bill of Rights some 100 years later: that government should not only tolerate different religions but should guarantee the right of individuals to hold their own beliefs. He was also a critical thinker on issues facing Europe.
• Penn had some bottom lines that cost him dearly: He continued to support the Quaker principles of not taking up arms or swearing oaths (i.e. of loyalty, etc.). This made him a social outcast in England and made life difficult among non-Quaker residents of his colony who feared violence from the French, Spanish and native Americans.
• Penn was plagued with money problems throughout. Reasons he could not collect his rents from either Ireland or Pennsylvania may have been poor management, but the maneuvers by his enemies in England regarding his charter,the various ownership disputes (which parcel was sold to which individual) and the poverty of the colonists were surely factors.
• Quakerism gave women a firm place. In a time when marriage was initiated on behalf of daughters by a patriarch, a Quaker committee approved marriages and it seemed the women’s meetings had a big say in this. Penn consults women including King James’ daughter in exile. He had full confidence in his wife, Hannah, whom he named as executrix of his estate and permitted her to serve with power of attorney after his stroke.
• Murphy doesn’t draw a clear line, but it is implied that the Quaker “meeting” can be a derivative of how the Quakers met the legal requirement that preaching could only take place in a Church of England.
• Penn made only two trips to the colony that aggregated to a total of 4 years. He owned slaves and upon leaving for England, despite his need for cash, he freed them and did not sell them.
• His administrator, James Logan, seems ideal. It’s too bad all the others he relied upon were not so loyal, honest and hard working.
- Ownership and government issues were never clear... perhaps to the participants as well as me. At the end Penn surrendered the colony to the crown(?) but kept its government. It is hard to know what this means since his heirs are cited as performing ownership responsibilities of the colony until the Revolution.
In reading this, it appears that Penn has not been given the attention he deserves as a trailblazer in the thinking that wended its way into the ideas that made the US. Not only did he think big and new thoughts, he acted upon them. He made great sacrifices for the both his colony of tolerance and his Quaker beliefs.
The five stars for this book are for the tremendous research and scope the writer brings to this biography. Due to its detail, the book is only recommended for those who want an in depth report on William Penn.
May 9, 2019
By the time William Penn (1644-1718) received his charter in 1681 from King Charles II for a new American colony he was already behind the times. New York, New Jersey, and Maryland, already well established, regarded Penn as encroaching on their territory. Boundary disputes abounded and, even worse, almost immediately Penn as proprietor of his own colony found himself out of sync with the new settlers. He was constantly playing catchup, behind the development of public opinion in his own colony, and appointing administrators (one a Puritan, another an Anglican) who were out of sync with the Quaker mentality. But wait! It was worse than that. Penn expected a sizable income from Pennsylvania which never materialized. Most of his life he remained in debt, shifting between creditors without ever paying off what he owed, and ending up more than once in debtor’s prison in England. Hold on! He was also incarcerated because the established church distrusted Penn and other Quakers who would not swear oaths to the Crown but only “affirm” their allegiance. Even when he found an ally, James II, he picked the wrong protector, a Stuart monarch, suspect because of his Catholicism, and eventually forced to flee to France.
You think that would be enough trouble for Penn. But no! He was something of a con man, consigning lots of land to friends who then engaged in decades of disputes with the Pennsylvania colonial government, claiming title to what Penn had promised but never put in writing. Penn was never that popular in his own colony and, in fact, spent little time there, although he was always announcing his return. At various points, the whole business of colony proprietorship became such a hassle he thought of selling it all back to the Crown.
Although Penn never thought of himself as an American—no such conception existed yet—he seems one of us in the very contentiousness and ambition of his goals, wishing sincerely to establish a land where freedom of worship prevailed, if not exactly on the democratic terms that have become part of this country’s governing ethos. Penn lived in a world of deference and condescension. He expected colonists to bow to his demands and never could have supposed that their recalcitrance marked the beginnings of a new people and a new identity that would not be bound by old world principles.
This William Penn, whose story, I think, demands exclamation marks is what I have gathered from Andrew R. Murphy’s authoritative, if plodding narrative. One virtue of plodding is that it shows just how dogged Penn was in asserting his rights and just how resistant the colonists were to simply acceding to his authority. Over and over again, we learn that Pennsylvanians were not behaving as their proprietor instructed. In fact, they did not seem to want to be instructed. A brisk summary of Penn’s troubles, cutting out the back-and-forth of decades, would have made Murphy’s biography a more engaging read but also less true to what it felt like for Penn and his friends and adversaries. This is the dilemma of any biographer who wants to be thorough, true to the evidence, and willing to sacrifice story values for meticulous attention to the factual, documentary record.
Another problem Murphy cannot overcome is how little we know about Penn’s feelings—other than that he was stubborn, courageous, and a loving husband. We know that his son was a big disappointment—reckless and demanding but without, it seems, much in the way of administrative skills or loyalty to his father’s Quaker principles. That there was more to Penn, the man and the thinker, is apparent from his friendships and alliances with those in power. Without forsaking his belief in freedom of conscience, which he wrote about extensively even when it put him in dire political trouble and then in prison, Penn worked well with the powerful and influential—perhaps because he grew up in the confidence of his father, an Admiral, who had established the family’s importance in public affairs. At the same time, though, a disappointed father urged his son to relinquish Quaker principles which stood in the way of his son’s advancement in the English establishment. Yet somehow (we don’t have the evidence to know exactly how) Penn never quite lost the affection of his father and never went so far as to alienate himself completely from the political and Church of England establishment.
Penn was a curious mixture of opportunism and principle befitting the founder of new colony. He genuinely promoted the prosperity of others. He believed, somewhat naively, that as soon as he primed their expections, their business would profit his own. Pennsylvania was not exactly a pyramid scheme, but let’s just say that no adminstrator Penn appointed, could ever quite sort out all the deals Penn had made with Pennsylvanians who claimed more land than any written document could verify.
Enough is known about Penn to describe him as a character, not just as a transactional entity involved in various political, economic, and social controversies. But Murphy never really assesses Penn’s character, perhaps thinking a description of Penn’s actions is enough, so that the reader can do the rest of the work. Part of the problem is Murphy’s dull prose, his employment of overused expressions like “that said,” and perhaps his sensibility. He does not see what a comic figure Penn is in certain respects for all the seriousness of his occupations and principles. Penn had a penchant for getting into predicaments that a biographer with a Dickensian sensibility might well appreciate.
Murphy’s Penn is for scholars, which is all to the good in so far as that kind of biography goes, but Penn is also a study in personality full of magnificent contradictoriness and contentiousness. We need more than summaries of his arguments and conflicts. We need the wit of Lytton Strachey to bring to life Penn’s quirkiness that combined with an insatiable idealism and hopefulness. To be sure, Penn sometimes seemed to lose heart and submit to self-pity, but he was forever rebounding, overcoming setbacks deserving of a narrative that would make of his life something of a picaresque novel.
You think that would be enough trouble for Penn. But no! He was something of a con man, consigning lots of land to friends who then engaged in decades of disputes with the Pennsylvania colonial government, claiming title to what Penn had promised but never put in writing. Penn was never that popular in his own colony and, in fact, spent little time there, although he was always announcing his return. At various points, the whole business of colony proprietorship became such a hassle he thought of selling it all back to the Crown.
Although Penn never thought of himself as an American—no such conception existed yet—he seems one of us in the very contentiousness and ambition of his goals, wishing sincerely to establish a land where freedom of worship prevailed, if not exactly on the democratic terms that have become part of this country’s governing ethos. Penn lived in a world of deference and condescension. He expected colonists to bow to his demands and never could have supposed that their recalcitrance marked the beginnings of a new people and a new identity that would not be bound by old world principles.
This William Penn, whose story, I think, demands exclamation marks is what I have gathered from Andrew R. Murphy’s authoritative, if plodding narrative. One virtue of plodding is that it shows just how dogged Penn was in asserting his rights and just how resistant the colonists were to simply acceding to his authority. Over and over again, we learn that Pennsylvanians were not behaving as their proprietor instructed. In fact, they did not seem to want to be instructed. A brisk summary of Penn’s troubles, cutting out the back-and-forth of decades, would have made Murphy’s biography a more engaging read but also less true to what it felt like for Penn and his friends and adversaries. This is the dilemma of any biographer who wants to be thorough, true to the evidence, and willing to sacrifice story values for meticulous attention to the factual, documentary record.
Another problem Murphy cannot overcome is how little we know about Penn’s feelings—other than that he was stubborn, courageous, and a loving husband. We know that his son was a big disappointment—reckless and demanding but without, it seems, much in the way of administrative skills or loyalty to his father’s Quaker principles. That there was more to Penn, the man and the thinker, is apparent from his friendships and alliances with those in power. Without forsaking his belief in freedom of conscience, which he wrote about extensively even when it put him in dire political trouble and then in prison, Penn worked well with the powerful and influential—perhaps because he grew up in the confidence of his father, an Admiral, who had established the family’s importance in public affairs. At the same time, though, a disappointed father urged his son to relinquish Quaker principles which stood in the way of his son’s advancement in the English establishment. Yet somehow (we don’t have the evidence to know exactly how) Penn never quite lost the affection of his father and never went so far as to alienate himself completely from the political and Church of England establishment.
Penn was a curious mixture of opportunism and principle befitting the founder of new colony. He genuinely promoted the prosperity of others. He believed, somewhat naively, that as soon as he primed their expections, their business would profit his own. Pennsylvania was not exactly a pyramid scheme, but let’s just say that no adminstrator Penn appointed, could ever quite sort out all the deals Penn had made with Pennsylvanians who claimed more land than any written document could verify.
Enough is known about Penn to describe him as a character, not just as a transactional entity involved in various political, economic, and social controversies. But Murphy never really assesses Penn’s character, perhaps thinking a description of Penn’s actions is enough, so that the reader can do the rest of the work. Part of the problem is Murphy’s dull prose, his employment of overused expressions like “that said,” and perhaps his sensibility. He does not see what a comic figure Penn is in certain respects for all the seriousness of his occupations and principles. Penn had a penchant for getting into predicaments that a biographer with a Dickensian sensibility might well appreciate.
Murphy’s Penn is for scholars, which is all to the good in so far as that kind of biography goes, but Penn is also a study in personality full of magnificent contradictoriness and contentiousness. We need more than summaries of his arguments and conflicts. We need the wit of Lytton Strachey to bring to life Penn’s quirkiness that combined with an insatiable idealism and hopefulness. To be sure, Penn sometimes seemed to lose heart and submit to self-pity, but he was forever rebounding, overcoming setbacks deserving of a narrative that would make of his life something of a picaresque novel.
September 12, 2019
This evidence based biography does much to sift fact from fiction of one of the most famous figures of the 17th century. A lot of legend has attached itself to William Penn and the paper trail shows him not as the Quaker “saint” he has sometime been heralded as.
Details of his early life are scant but he was ill at ease with what was expected of him, dropping out of both Oxford and the Inns of Court and becoming a “convinced” Quaker. His project of establishing Pennsylvania (named in honour of his father not himself) was an unfathomably huge undertaking and the book does much to illuminate the process and development through Penn's correspondence and transactions.
The hard facts reveal less savoury elements of his life. He supported and was supported by English plantations in Ireland and had no qualms about African slave labour. He became embroiled in frequent squabbles and disagreements and made repeated rash misjudgements rather than being a restrained and calm figure. He was from a privileged family and could pull strings most others could only dream of. He was also vain and wore a wig to hide his probable baldness.
Despite this (I am indifferent towards the wig) it shows him in truth as a flawed member of the gentry and a product of his age rather than an impossible specification he never was. Neither does this diminish what we did accomplish as he renounced what would have been an incredibly cushy life for his faith and ended up bankrupt. His constant campaigning for religious and civil freedoms put him on trial and in prison frequently. He made a tenable agreement with native Lenape tribes which ensured peace where otherwise bloodshed was common. The Frame of Government is arguably at the beginning of constitutional rights in American history and set up the route to the the liberties enshrined after independence. His “holy experiment” was a vision of a Christian utopia but the scope of his ambitions were ultimately too great.
Details of his early life are scant but he was ill at ease with what was expected of him, dropping out of both Oxford and the Inns of Court and becoming a “convinced” Quaker. His project of establishing Pennsylvania (named in honour of his father not himself) was an unfathomably huge undertaking and the book does much to illuminate the process and development through Penn's correspondence and transactions.
The hard facts reveal less savoury elements of his life. He supported and was supported by English plantations in Ireland and had no qualms about African slave labour. He became embroiled in frequent squabbles and disagreements and made repeated rash misjudgements rather than being a restrained and calm figure. He was from a privileged family and could pull strings most others could only dream of. He was also vain and wore a wig to hide his probable baldness.
Despite this (I am indifferent towards the wig) it shows him in truth as a flawed member of the gentry and a product of his age rather than an impossible specification he never was. Neither does this diminish what we did accomplish as he renounced what would have been an incredibly cushy life for his faith and ended up bankrupt. His constant campaigning for religious and civil freedoms put him on trial and in prison frequently. He made a tenable agreement with native Lenape tribes which ensured peace where otherwise bloodshed was common. The Frame of Government is arguably at the beginning of constitutional rights in American history and set up the route to the the liberties enshrined after independence. His “holy experiment” was a vision of a Christian utopia but the scope of his ambitions were ultimately too great.
November 13, 2023
I often ask myself a question as to the relevance of what I am reading--a biography of William Penn (1644-1718) might easily prompt such a query. I knew very little about him other than the obvious connection to the state name 'Penns Woods'. In fact however, it seems that the Penn in the state name may actually be for his father, also William Penn and a very successful Royal Navy officer in the Anglo-Dutch wars of the mid-17th century. As the author pointed out about our William Penn however, he is "a figure whom many know a little, but few know well".
After this somewhat difficult navigation through the hallways of his life I can at least say I know a little more, but perhaps more than I actually cared to! This is a fairly 'academic' treatment of Penn's life (Murphy is Professor of Political Science at Rutgers) and it is a somewhat dry account lacking in literary or artistic flair. He sticks mainly to the facts with extensive documentation through letters, papers and other source material. Hard to criticize that approach and it lends credibility, but perhaps at the expense of readability. You can probably rely on the accuracy of what is stated here but it gets a little slow at times. The religious (and hence political) squabbles between Quakers and other Christian branches, mainly the Anglicans (Church of England), are among the more interesting subjects and that theme is covered in some detail throughout the book. The early Quakers in England were persecuted intensely and Penn's conversion to the sect became his chief identity. His extensive writings and defense of religious freedom stemmed from this persecution and that process is thoroughly described. It is notable that his defense of relgious freedom was only grudgingly extended to Catholics and not at all to non-Christians. By the standards of the time however the Quakers were far more tolerant than most!
Penn's financial troubles and issues relating to land sales also occupy vast swaths of the text as well and that can get fairly tedious. The book's prologue starts with Penn in a famous London debtor's prison (Fleet Street) in 1708 when he was already 64 y.o., so you know that money is going to be an issue and it certainly is. The financial risks of the colonial enterprise are fully elucidated whether caused by land sale conflicts, difficulties in rent collection, lack of cash, communication problems across the ocean, etc. Colonialism was a complicated business! Of course great rewards ensued as well but not in Penn's lifetime. Criticism of colonialism as practiced by the West has become de rigeur in many if not most academic circles but this book should at least serve to illuminate just how complex an undertaking it was in this early modern period. For most of history of course 'colonialism' simply mean conquest or elimination of enemies and neighbors that were encountered with no written record to describe the proceedings.
What is not included in this book is much of anything about the Indians from whom the lands of Pennsylvania were 'obtained' and how that process exactly worked. It was not clear from this reading that William Penn ever even spoke to an Indian, notwithstanding the famous painting by Benjamin West done much later. I also learned that Penn spent only about four years in his colony so much of the 'action' takes place in England and Ireland where his father had large land holdings. As I learned recently in another book ('The Dominion of War') Ireland was a sort of laboratory for the methods and means by which the native (savage) populations were to be removed and lands expropriated by the English colonizers in North America. Unfortunately, there is very little in this book about that entire process as it occurred in Penn's colony. It is true that one of the biggest land grab in PA occurred later (1737) with the so-called 'Walking Purchase' and his son's were involved in that. The book also assumes a pretty good background in English and European history as major events occurred in Penn's life--Cromwell, the Restoration, the Glorious Revolution and fall of the House of Stuart, the endless European wars (Nine Years War, the Spanish Succession) between the Grand Alliance and France. Luckily, I have inhabited that world a lot lately, a really fascinating period. Anyway, I'll give this 3 stars but a mild disappointment.
After this somewhat difficult navigation through the hallways of his life I can at least say I know a little more, but perhaps more than I actually cared to! This is a fairly 'academic' treatment of Penn's life (Murphy is Professor of Political Science at Rutgers) and it is a somewhat dry account lacking in literary or artistic flair. He sticks mainly to the facts with extensive documentation through letters, papers and other source material. Hard to criticize that approach and it lends credibility, but perhaps at the expense of readability. You can probably rely on the accuracy of what is stated here but it gets a little slow at times. The religious (and hence political) squabbles between Quakers and other Christian branches, mainly the Anglicans (Church of England), are among the more interesting subjects and that theme is covered in some detail throughout the book. The early Quakers in England were persecuted intensely and Penn's conversion to the sect became his chief identity. His extensive writings and defense of religious freedom stemmed from this persecution and that process is thoroughly described. It is notable that his defense of relgious freedom was only grudgingly extended to Catholics and not at all to non-Christians. By the standards of the time however the Quakers were far more tolerant than most!
Penn's financial troubles and issues relating to land sales also occupy vast swaths of the text as well and that can get fairly tedious. The book's prologue starts with Penn in a famous London debtor's prison (Fleet Street) in 1708 when he was already 64 y.o., so you know that money is going to be an issue and it certainly is. The financial risks of the colonial enterprise are fully elucidated whether caused by land sale conflicts, difficulties in rent collection, lack of cash, communication problems across the ocean, etc. Colonialism was a complicated business! Of course great rewards ensued as well but not in Penn's lifetime. Criticism of colonialism as practiced by the West has become de rigeur in many if not most academic circles but this book should at least serve to illuminate just how complex an undertaking it was in this early modern period. For most of history of course 'colonialism' simply mean conquest or elimination of enemies and neighbors that were encountered with no written record to describe the proceedings.
What is not included in this book is much of anything about the Indians from whom the lands of Pennsylvania were 'obtained' and how that process exactly worked. It was not clear from this reading that William Penn ever even spoke to an Indian, notwithstanding the famous painting by Benjamin West done much later. I also learned that Penn spent only about four years in his colony so much of the 'action' takes place in England and Ireland where his father had large land holdings. As I learned recently in another book ('The Dominion of War') Ireland was a sort of laboratory for the methods and means by which the native (savage) populations were to be removed and lands expropriated by the English colonizers in North America. Unfortunately, there is very little in this book about that entire process as it occurred in Penn's colony. It is true that one of the biggest land grab in PA occurred later (1737) with the so-called 'Walking Purchase' and his son's were involved in that. The book also assumes a pretty good background in English and European history as major events occurred in Penn's life--Cromwell, the Restoration, the Glorious Revolution and fall of the House of Stuart, the endless European wars (Nine Years War, the Spanish Succession) between the Grand Alliance and France. Luckily, I have inhabited that world a lot lately, a really fascinating period. Anyway, I'll give this 3 stars but a mild disappointment.
September 24, 2025
An interesting biography about the famous Quaker and Founder of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The author demonstrates a commendable mastery of his material, both original and secondary, and illuminates many aspects of Penn's career that were previously unknown (or forgotten) by this reader: the fact that he was famous throughout Europe as a leader of, and prolific apologist for, the Society of Friends; that he spent little time in his colony; that he had several stints in prison; and so on. The contrasts and comparisons between the two Mrs. William Penns -- Gulielma Springett and Hannah Callowhill -- are intriguing; Murphy lays to rest the myth that Penn married first for love, then for money. Much light is shed on the controversies that swirled in early Pennsylvania and the tensions between the founding Quakers and the influx of Anglicans (reflecting a tension and opposition in England that, in fact, helped spark the founding of Pennsylvania in the first place). Murphy is fairly unconvinced about the mythic relations between William Penn and the Lenape. -- On the whole, the book is most worthwhile. I found the author's style confusing at times, as he repeats things and doesn't seem to follow a strict chronology at times, which left me a bit at sea. But I learned a great deal and have a deeper appreciation for the complexity of the man William Penn.
June 14, 2019
A difficult book to read, much like an encyclopedia. However, it conveys much about the difficulty of settling a large area like Pennsylvania (Penn's Woods) prior to the American Revolution. Penn being a prominent convert to Quakerism provided an interesting background for the story of immigration to the colony. There is interesting details on the various monarchs Penn interacted with as well as the negotiations between political entities on both sides of the Atlantic. Difficult to do business without sailing back and forth. No wonder Penn was constantly in debt. He called his colony the "holy experiment" to allow religious freedom. It was also called the "seed of a nation". I did not find Penn's biography an uplifting story. Perhaps a future author can find more personal stories to brighten it up.
March 16, 2019
A thorough examination of William Penn the man in all his parts - Quaker apologist, advocate for toleration, a man familiar with the English elite if set apart from it, colonial proprietor, businessman.
The attention to detail this book gives to Penn’s many activities can sometimes lead to repetition, as it makes difficult a straightforward chronology. But I am inclined not to hold that against the author, because he is working with imperfect records from a relatively early (in the case of English North America) and turbulent (in the case of England) period. And the detail counters the simplified perception of Penn as colonial founder that I remember chiefly from Pennsylvania history in grade school.
Also wish I had noticed the maps in the back of the book earlier than I did.
The attention to detail this book gives to Penn’s many activities can sometimes lead to repetition, as it makes difficult a straightforward chronology. But I am inclined not to hold that against the author, because he is working with imperfect records from a relatively early (in the case of English North America) and turbulent (in the case of England) period. And the detail counters the simplified perception of Penn as colonial founder that I remember chiefly from Pennsylvania history in grade school.
Also wish I had noticed the maps in the back of the book earlier than I did.
June 5, 2020
Andrew Murphy’s life of William Penn is a slog. Turgid prose and unceasing descriptions of local visits, Quaker figures and meetings make this a tough read. But Penn’s intrepid and argumentative nature come through. Arrested for preaching religious tolerance, plagued by debt and litigation, hounded by Friends dissenters in England and Pennsylvania and cursed with the loss of one wife and five children, Penn fought for his colony and Quakerism through his death in 1718. He visited his colony only twice for a total of four years but made his mark.
December 26, 2023
Exhaustive, and exhaustingly thorough, bio of the Quaker activist and British aristocrat who founded Pennsylvania -- the state I've inhabited nearly my entire life without knowing very much about him. The book is first of all a pretty good primer on early Quaker history; founded in England, in the mid-1600s, it was initially considered an heretical sect, hence Penn's own repeated jailings once he was converted (or "convinced," as they put it), by the religion's very founder. Curious details here include the considerable importance of hats, and adherents' refusal to doff them to social superiors, to Quakerism. While being in constant debt (an trying to get out of it) also played a very large role in Penn's life, his charter for Pennsylvania was truly visionary, and Murphy effectively details the many ways this document -- which preceded the U.S. Constitution by a century, influenced the Founders in their views of religious freedom and other ideals. To tell the truth, I skimmed a couple of the latter chapters of the book, which went into painstaking detail about Penn's business dealings and bureaucratic wranglings over PA. But overall, an intriguing book.
December 10, 2018
An academic text, so not exactly casual reader friendly. Somewhat surprised to find it on the shelf of the local branch library after noticing it on the table at an academic bookstore a week or two earlier.
Anyway, I might have rated this 4 stars, but well, I fell asleep a couple times while reading it. And like other academic works I've read, there were too many instances of repeated information (sometimes a few pages apart) that suggest a lack of an editor who read it straight through.
Anyway, I might have rated this 4 stars, but well, I fell asleep a couple times while reading it. And like other academic works I've read, there were too many instances of repeated information (sometimes a few pages apart) that suggest a lack of an editor who read it straight through.
April 7, 2019
Certain aspects of this book are quite interesting -- Penn's "convincement," the intertwined nature of religion and politics in 17th century Europe, the process of establishing a North American colony, etc. However, some of the discussion of politics (both English and North American) got to be too detailed for my liking.
June 30, 2024
I teach 5th graders at William Penn Elementary School in Bakersfield, CA. We learn about Penn’s life each year, usually as it relates to American History and the founding of Pennsylvania, but as an educator, I wanted more detailed information on the man. This book is indeed detailed, but unfortunately, the author is a better historian than writer; the book is hard to plod through.
January 28, 2025
Overall a solid, if workmanlike, biography of his life. I did enjoy reading about his rise in Quakerism and his role as a defender of Quakers. However I felt as if the book occasionally became more of a list of what he did rather than an analysis of the man himself . Still an enjoyable read and worth a read if you wish to learn more about the man or the early years of Philadelphia.
November 21, 2021
I didn’t finish this book. It has some good historical information, but it reads like a 488 page laundry list of Penn’s quarrels with various religious sects and the British government. It is pretty lite on story telling or bringing to life who Penn was as a person.
August 10, 2019
A solid account of William Penn's life that mostly strikes a balance between readable/enjoyable and dense/academic.
October 12, 2020
Really enjoying reading this book. Lots of parallels to this time.
January 5, 2022
" A Holy Experiment"
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews