Description: Focusing primarily on non-canonical texts, this collection takes up the diversity of religious discourse in nineteenth-century women's literature and articulates how American women writers adopted the language of religious sentiment for their own cultural, political or spiritual ends. The contributors examine fiction, political and religious writings, memoirs, and poetry to reveal the complexities of lived religion in women's culture-both its repressive and its revolutionary potential.
Review Quotes: '...makes a welcome contribution to the growing scholarly interest in women's religious attitudes and experiences in nineteenth-century America.' Nan Goodman, University of Colorado, Boulder 'This is a series of carefully thought out essays exploring women's personal spiritual authority and involvement in "religious conversations." ... Readers researching women's history and spirituality, American studies and religious studies will be interested. Footnotes, bibliography and index provided.' Magistra