I am the first to admit that I am not a lover of biographies/auto-biographies.  Add in the fact that the author states on the cover that very little recorded detail is to be found about his subject - and that makes me doubly sceptical.  I would never have read this if it had not 'fallen off' Allen's book shelves before he moved (our vicar Dr. Allan Billings retired last year).

 

Anne Lee was born in Manchester in 1736, and is credited with forming the Shaking Quakers in America.  A radical offshoot of the Society Of Friends, in which members shook, shouted, danced and sung in tongues during religious worship

 

So how did I get on?  I was engrossed.  The writer covers the surrounding time and troubles and fills in the gaps of the missing details of Anne.  He charts the riots that were happening in Manchester at the time and how she ended up leaving for America.  He tells us about the practical difficulties that the people faced just surviving every day - on both sides of the water.  He weaves in other named characters that were about where and when Anne lived, and charts the foundation of the Quaker movement, its principles and habits along side her life narrative.

 

While there may not be much factual detail solely about Anne, what we end up with is an image of the times she lived.  The hardship and travels she made, and how her new movement impacted upon the minds and lives of these very first settlers.

 

The text held me because it was very simply written.  It is an easy book to read and no long complex sentences, no to-ing and fro-ing to keep track of.  The author starts with  life in Manchester at the time and what was happening around the streets Anne was born.  He picks up the few places in official records where she is named, and carries you along in his easy style to the hardships of the newly forming America.

 

Anne's approach to religious worship was totally new, and the scenes that were seen must have been very scary for the traditional folk that she came across.  The reports of the services and the towns folks reactions are beautifully painted - and you are really torn between the two camps.  The supporting characters are complete people and their lives and import sketched in as well.

 

Thank you Allan for this book, I loved it.  I shall return to it again and always be thrilled with it.  I wish you all the best for your 'retirement' (as if you could), and sincerely say 'thank you' both for your pastoral care and your books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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