Daughters of Light: Quaker Women Preaching and Prophesying in the Colonies and Abroad, 1700-1775

In the past quarter-century the number of women entering the ordained ministry has increased dramatically. There is consequently a lively interest in the history of women's leadership from biblical times to the present. This account of the Quaker women (numbering well over a thousand) empowered by their home meetings to travel and preach throughout the British Isles and the American colonies will find an appreciative audience among those with such a concern. Believing that men and women were equally open to divine inspiration, Quakers not only accepted the preaching ministry of women, but actively encouraged it by sponsoring and assisting the women preachers in their extensive journeys, of which many first-hand accounts survive. In its presentation of these documents, however, this study (the author's first book) betrays its origins as a doctoral dissertation. The pastiche of quotations can make for slow going, especially since archaic spellings and usages are translated in brackets, often when the meaning is already quite clear. There is a wealth of detail, however, that amply illustrates the background and daily life of these remarkable women. The final chapter places the preachers' ministry in the larger context of the history of both the Quaker and the non-Quaker world during this period. Illustrations. (Aug.)