Women Prophets and Radical Protestantism in the British Atlantic World, 1640-1730

Book excerpt: This book examines the stories of radical Protestant women who prophesied between the British Civil Wars and the Great Awakening. It explores how women prophets shaped religious and civic communities in the British Atlantic world by invoking claims of chosenness. Elizabeth Bouldin interweaves detailed individual studies with analysis that summarizes trends and patterns among women prophets from a variety of backgrounds throughout the British Isles, colonial North America, and continental Europe. Highlighting the ecumenical goals of many early modern dissenters, Women Prophets and Radical Protestantism in the British Atlantic World, 1640–1730 places female prophecy in the context of major political, cultural, and religious transformations of the period. These include transatlantic migration, debates over toleration, the formation of Atlantic religious networks, and the rise of the public sphere. This wide-ranging volume will appeal to all those interested in European and British Atlantic history and the history of women and religion.