Ann the Word: The Story of Ann Lee, Female Messiah, Mother of the Shakers, the Woman Clothed with the Sun

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Synopsis
From Publishers Weekly Ann Lee (1736-1784) was an illiterate who left no records of her own, making the biographer's task a challenge. Francis has culled this entertaining profile from public records of Lee's many incarcerations for disorderly conduct (those early Shakers were a loud bunch) and her followers' glowing recollections. Francis dispels some myths about Lee, including the notion that she "founded" the Shaker movement, which had been going for 11 years before she converted in 1758. In 1770, she had a vision in which she saw herself as a Messiah figure, and thereafter assumed spiritual leadership, bringing a small flock of believers to America in 1774. Francis does a fine job of placing early Shakerism within the larger context of the Revolutionary War and gives long-overdue attention to the historical import of the "Dark Day" of 1780. Francis is a fine writer who vividly conjures the religious and social worlds of the 18th century, though his allusions to popular 20th-century entertainments (Monty Python, Stephen King and the movie Groundhog Day) are more distracting than illustrative. The lack of citations of any kind is troublesome in a biography where so much of the "primary" source material was penned long after Lee's death; occasional glitches on Francis's part (e.g., calling the Anglican revivalist George Whitefield a Methodist) also undermine reader confidence. Despite these flaws, this is unquestionably the best and most absorbing biography of the irrepressible Shaker leader.
Copyright:
2000

Book Details

Book Quality:
Excellent
Book Size:
388 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781559705622
Publisher:
N/A
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Richard Francis
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Biographies and Memoirs, Religion and Spirituality
Submitted By:
Jim Baugh
Proofread By:
Lena
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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