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American Jezebel
American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans | Eve LaPlante
6 posts | 3 read | 12 to read
In 1637, Anne Hutchinson, a forty-six-year-old midwife who was pregnant with her sixteenth child, stood before forty male judges of the Massachusetts General Court, charged with heresy and sedition. In a time when women could not vote, hold public office, or teach outside the home, the charismatic Hutchinson wielded remarkable political power. Her unconventional ideas had attracted a following of prominent citizens eager for social reform. Hutchinson defended herself brilliantly, but the judges, faced with a perceived threat to public order, banished her for behaving in a manner "not comely for [her] sex." Written by one of Hutchinson's direct descendants, American Jezebel brings both balance and perspective to Hutchinson's story. It captures this American heroine's life in all its complexity, presenting her not as a religious fanatic, a cardboard feminist, or a raging crankas some have portrayed herbut as a flesh-and-blood wife, mother, theologian, and political leader. The book narrates her dramatic expulsion from Massachusetts, after which her judges, still threatened by her challenges, promptly built Harvard College to enforce religious and social orthodoxiesmaking her the mid-wife to the nation's first college. In exile, she settled Rhode Island, becoming the only woman ever to co-found an American colony. The seeds of the American struggle for women's and human rights can be found in the story of this one woman's courageous life. American Jezebel illuminates the origins of our modern concepts of religious freedom, equal rights, and free speech, and showcases an extraordinary woman whose achievements are astonishing by the standards of any era.
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mrsmarch
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4 down from this #bookspin board
Plus Prisoner in the Castle by Susan Elia MacNeal
Plus Chimamanda Adichie‘s Notes on Grief in one sitting at the Athenaeum
Detouring with reread of the tagged book for book club this weekend
Then forward march to Ms Wheatley
Phew

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Amiable
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Pickpick

Fascinating bio of Anne Hutchinson, who was banished from Massachusetts Colony for heresy and helped settle the colony that would become Rhode Island. The first part focuses on her trial with written transcripts, which is a bit of a slog. Nearly 400 years later, the obvious sexism against her is appalling, but her intelligence and wit while holding her own against her male accusers shines through. She was a feminist before the word was invented.

Suet624 Wow! I know nothing about any of this! And I live in the northeast. Shame on me. 3y
Amiable @Suet624 I live in Connecticut and I also knew very little about Anne Hutchinson. I did know that she was one of the early settlers of Rhode Island with Roger Williams, but the main details were fuzzy. (edited) 3y
59 likes2 stack adds2 comments
review
radelyn
Mehso-so

This was a bit disappointing. I fully understand that it's difficult to focus on the woman because there just not a lot of evidence of her thoughts, if any, versus the words of men. It did pick up in the last third of the book, but it took me a while to get there. The author quotes a mountain of church and trial documents and explains a lot of the male figures. Again, I understand, but it was disappointing nonetheless.

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lyradora
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My other current read: a combination american history, religious studies, and biography text. The author actually makes the intricacies of Puritan theology interesting, and really gets into *why* Hutchison was such a threat. My only complaint is that so many people at that time had the same name! Too many Jameses and Thomases and Elizabeths! #womensspirituality #religiousstudies #bravegirls

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lyradora
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Has anyone else read this? I'm only on the first chapter, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. #americanhistory #womensspirituality #bravegirls

jwashreads I have never heard of it. 6y
7 likes1 comment
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mrsmarch
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#asidefrombooks

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Currently Reading: Snow White Red Handed, Hamilton

Smangela Baby drool 😂😂❤️ beautiful picture! 7y
mrsmarch @Smangela filters are my friend lol 😂 thanks! 7y
BethwithBooks Your accessories 😂👌 7y
LauraBeth Great pic! 7y
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