Anne Hutchinson: Puritan Prophet

Library of American Biography

by Timothy D. Hall

This new biography on Anne Hutchinson examines the life of this perennially fascinating and controversial woman within the dynamic social and cultural contexts of seventeenth-century England and North America.


Drawing upon the latest scholarship, Timothy D. Hall presents Hutchinson as a literate, highly intelligent agent of a militant Protestant vanguard pressing to extend English influence into the new world. Hall explores the charges brought against Hutchinson and analyzes her responses to them, and he provides thorough coverage of her continued influence in other communities after her trial and expulsion from the Massachusetts Bay colony.

Paperback, brief, and inexpensive, each of the titles in the “Library of American Biography” series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of American history and national life. In addition, each biography relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.

Genres: Religion, Biography, History

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 11, 2009

About the author

Timothy Hall is Professor of History and Dean of the Howard College of Arts and Sciences at Samford University.

Reviews

[Crazycalvinist O'flaherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seems like one of many historical figures where so little real evidence of events is left that, much is left to speculation and conjecture as to whether she was a heroine or heretic. One thing is for sure, she continues to fascinate us in our generation; as a lone woman, a mother and wife, taking on the full force of puritan ideals and challenging it, pushing the boundaries as far as she could. A first in her age, and with the women's movement that followed after, she has no doubt become a figure of enchantment. But I believe only eternity will reveal the truth about Anne Hutchinson--prophet or revolutionary?

[Tracy]

A helpful summary and interpretation of the resources available regarding Anne Hutchinson, placed into the context of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and early 17th-century English Reform efforts and concerns.

[Chris Kalbach · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had good information. I still struggled to stay awake while reading it.