The passion of Anne Hutchinson : an extraordinary woman, the Puritan patriarchs, and the world they made and lost /

Few early American figures have commanded more attention from historians than Anne Hutchinson, the outspoken woman whose defiance of the spiritual and political authorities of Puritan Massachusetts provoked the Antinomian Controversy. Feminist scholarship has produced the most sophisticated and nuanced studies of her life and times. Westerkamp (Univ. of California, Santa Cruz) meaningfully contributes to that corpus by situating Hutchinson's experience within an Atlantic framework, specifically at the intersections of early modern politics, religious radicalism, medical knowledge, and gender ideology. The book opens with overviews of the controversy and Puritanism for context, followed by chapters that intricately examine the disadvantages women suffered under Puritan patriarchy because of prevailing legal, religious, and medical doctrines. However, as later chapters reveal, a paradox existed at the center of Puritanism that provided the charismatic Hutchinson an opportunity for empowerment: prophecy. In her hands, this ultimate spiritual power could "override the constrictions of patriarchy" (p. 223). Though not a path-breaking conclusion, Westerkamp treads a previously untrodden path to reach it. She adeptly integrates sources scoured from England to Massachusetts to craft the most thorough historicization of Hutchinson to date, making this a worthwhile read for students of the colonial US. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. --Matthew Reardon, West Texas A&M University