The writings of the Puritans have had a recent resurgence, but many Puritan women have often been overlooked or misunderstood. As mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and wives, the vibrant faith of Puritan women has much to teach modern day readers.
In 5 Puritan Women: Portraits of Faith and Love, Jenny-Lyn de Klerk shows how the lives and writings of Christian women encourage the beauty of holy living and provide practical wisdom for the home and the church. Each chapter portrays a different Puritan woman—Agnes Beaumont, Lucy Hutchinson, Mary Rich, Anne Bradstreet, and Lady Brilliana Harley—telling their stories of devotion, lament, and family. By studying their faith journeys, modern readers can learn more about their roles in church history and glean insights into the Christian life.
Author
Jenny-Lyn de Klerk (PhD, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) works as an editor at Crossway and has multiple degrees in church history and historical theology, specializing in Puritan spirituality. She has also written articles for Themelios, the Midwestern Journal of Theology, and the Gospel Coalition and contributed to the Lexham Dictionary of Church History. Jenny-Lyn and her husband, JD, live and attend church in Tsawwassen, British Columbia.
Endorsements
"In 5 Puritan Women, Jenny-Lyn de Klerk introduces us to five faithful saints who have gone before us. As you get to know these women through the pages of this book, you will feel as though you have met five new friends. Through their words and stories, they will instruct, strengthen, and encourage you in your faith. So grab a warm drink, sit down with your new friends, and let them spur you on to love God and live a faithful, beautiful life.”
Courtney Doctor, Director of Women’s Initiatives, The Gospel Coalition; Bible teacher; author, From Garden to Glory and In View of God’s Mercies
“At some point, someone somewhere must have convinced me to believe the Puritans were boring. But as it turns out, that person was dead wrong. In 5 Puritan Women, Jenny-Lyn de Klerk shakes the dust off the stories of five women we never should have overlooked. Their remarkable strength, distinct personalities, and substantial faith offer women today an unexpected and delightful inheritance that can impact the way we express and enjoy our faith today.”
Caroline Saunders, author, The Story of Water and The Story of Home
“We are all prone to stereotypes and misunderstanding, but part of loving our neighbors—even dead ones!—is seeking to understand them on their own terms so that we can better appreciate and learn from them. Jenny-Lyn de Klerk has written a book about five Puritan women who faced real challenges in a real world with their real God. What she also helps us (both men and women) learn from these godly mentors is significant. I’m only sad it has taken us this long to hear from these too-often-forgotten saints.”
Kelly M. Kapic, Professor of Theological Studies, Covenant College
“Often neglected, usually misunderstood, and grossly maligned, the Puritan women of the past are far overdue for a revival. Agnes Beaumont, Lucy Hutchinson, Mary Rich, Anne Bradstreet, and Lady Brilliana Harley should be household names. For not only did they contribute robust theological insights of their own, but they mastered the Christian life by exemplifying with profound maturity the love of Christ, a love so absent from our relationships with one another today. Who better to bring about this revival than a talented, even magical writer who embodies the spirit and theology of these Puritan women herself? Look no further than Jenny-Lyn de Klerk. She has not only become a kindred spirit with these Puritan women, but she has given them a voice. May the resiliency of their religion and the fervor of their faith infuse the church today until it becomes the spiritual family envisioned by our Lord.”
Matthew Barrett, Associate Professor of Christian Theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; author, Owen on the Christian Life
