American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans
In November 1637, Anne Hutchinson stood before forty male judges of the Massachusetts General Court. The 46-year-old midwife and Puritan leader, pregnant with her sixteenth child, parried their every charge of heresy and sedition. In a period when a woman could not vote, hold public office, or teach outside the home, Hutchinson showed remarkable political power, prompting Governor John Winthrop to deride her as “this American Jezebel.” LaPlante’s definitive biography captures Hutchinson’s life in all its complexity, presenting a riveting portrait of early America. Moving from Hutchinson’s dramatic courtroom battles to her banishment in Rhode Island, where she became the only woman ever to found an American colony, American Jezebel sheds light on the origins of our modern concepts of religious freedom, equal rights, and free speech.
ORDER NOW at: Amazon Barnes & Noble IndieBound
Featured on NPR’s “The Connection,” Comcast’s “Nitebeat,” and WCVB-TV’s “Chronicle.”
Boston Globe Bestseller.
“A Best Nonfiction Book of 2004.”
— Christian Science Monitor
“Fast-paced and elegant ... A first-rate biography.”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
“To all those teachers around the country who ask me: What true heroes can I tell my students about? I would reply: Tell them about Anne Hutchinson. And read Eve LaPlante’s biography of her to make her and her courage come alive.”
— Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States
“A stunning book, exquisitely written, that fills in a crucial piece of American history. Founding mother Anne Hutchinson is a woman everyone will want to — and should — know about.”
— Carol Gilligan, author of In A Different Voice
“LaPlante, the master of biography as thriller, tells a familiar story with a novelist’s panache ... An enthralling narrative.”
— New York Sun
“Valiant and remarkably successful ... LaPlante is particularly good on the sexual mores of the Puritans.”
— Laura Miller, Salon
“Fascinating ... Electric ... A rare and charming glimpse into the pleasures of a historian’s detective work.”
— Christian Science Monitor
“What makes American Jezebel so extraordinary is how LaPlante enables Hutchinson to come alive through her own words ... LaPlante’s vivid account...renders her subject not as simple saint or sinner, but as a textured human being.”
— Ted Anthony, Canadian Press
“Well worth reading ... Anne Hutchinson is among the most-neglected, most important figures in United States history.”
— Nick Gillespie, Reason
“Drawing on a staggering amount of historical detail, 12th-generation descendant Eve LaPlante plots her forebear’s downfall with the vivid immediacy of a novel.”
— BookPage
“LaPlante paints a fascinating portrait of this complex mother of 15 and...deftly depicts the gritty world of colonial New England.”
— Booklist
“A powerful biography of a woman who refused to still her voice.”
— Dallas Morning News
“I feel even better about having pardoned Anne Hutchinson! This terrific book also carried with it a message for today. America faces the same question the Bay Colony faced: liberty versus security. Let’s hope the lessons of Hutchinson's banishment are not lost on those entrusted with ensuring we are both strong and free.”
— Michael Dukakis, former governor of Massachusetts
“New England’s foremother and Harvard's midwife is here rescued from Puritan obscurity and reintroduced to 21st-century America. Anne Hutchinson’s passionate, nonconformist intelligence makes her the most significant woman in pre-Revolutionary America.”
— Peter J. Gomes, Harvard, author of The Good Life
“American Jezebel offers a spirited biography of a stirring figure who pushed the limits of Puritan dissent and paid heavily for it. Hutchinson’s story has often served as an emblem by which to measure the public voices of women in America, and LaPlante's rendering shows how deeply resonant that history remains.”
— Leigh Schmidt, coauthor, A Religious History of America
“This vivid and richly documented book tells the nearly incredible story of a woman who managed, in a male-dominated, religion-obsessed world, to shape the future of New England and New York.”
— Susan Quinn, author of Marie Curie: A Life
“Dazzling ... Splendid.”
— Book-of-the-Month Club
“Powerful characters, a compelling tale, and a strong narrative writer in LaPlante ... [This] fascinating book deserves wide reading. It shows religious zealotry in an American context...from the inside out.”
— Boston Globe
“If reading this book will not make a reader want to recommit him or herself to the true principles of democracy, then I don't know what will.”
— Cedric L. Heppler, American Journal of Theology & Philosophy
“Eve LaPlante throws us into the action and weaves us carefully into Hutchinson’s world in England, Boston, Rhode Island, and New York ... Finally, an author has given us a meticulously-researched guided tour with maps ... In this book the early 1600s come alive...[with their] living habits and the obsession with religion. Thank you, LaPlante, for clarifying the long civic and church trials of Anne Hutchinson, making them lively and readable.”
— Friends of Anne Hutchinson, Portsmouth, RI
ORDER NOW at: Amazon Barnes & Noble IndieBound
Featured on NPR’s “The Connection,” Comcast’s “Nitebeat,” and WCVB-TV’s “Chronicle.”
Boston Globe Bestseller.
“A Best Nonfiction Book of 2004.”
— Christian Science Monitor
“Fast-paced and elegant ... A first-rate biography.”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
“To all those teachers around the country who ask me: What true heroes can I tell my students about? I would reply: Tell them about Anne Hutchinson. And read Eve LaPlante’s biography of her to make her and her courage come alive.”
— Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States
“A stunning book, exquisitely written, that fills in a crucial piece of American history. Founding mother Anne Hutchinson is a woman everyone will want to — and should — know about.”
— Carol Gilligan, author of In A Different Voice
“LaPlante, the master of biography as thriller, tells a familiar story with a novelist’s panache ... An enthralling narrative.”
— New York Sun
“Valiant and remarkably successful ... LaPlante is particularly good on the sexual mores of the Puritans.”
— Laura Miller, Salon
“Fascinating ... Electric ... A rare and charming glimpse into the pleasures of a historian’s detective work.”
— Christian Science Monitor
“What makes American Jezebel so extraordinary is how LaPlante enables Hutchinson to come alive through her own words ... LaPlante’s vivid account...renders her subject not as simple saint or sinner, but as a textured human being.”
— Ted Anthony, Canadian Press
“Well worth reading ... Anne Hutchinson is among the most-neglected, most important figures in United States history.”
— Nick Gillespie, Reason
“Drawing on a staggering amount of historical detail, 12th-generation descendant Eve LaPlante plots her forebear’s downfall with the vivid immediacy of a novel.”
— BookPage
“LaPlante paints a fascinating portrait of this complex mother of 15 and...deftly depicts the gritty world of colonial New England.”
— Booklist
“A powerful biography of a woman who refused to still her voice.”
— Dallas Morning News
“I feel even better about having pardoned Anne Hutchinson! This terrific book also carried with it a message for today. America faces the same question the Bay Colony faced: liberty versus security. Let’s hope the lessons of Hutchinson's banishment are not lost on those entrusted with ensuring we are both strong and free.”
— Michael Dukakis, former governor of Massachusetts
“New England’s foremother and Harvard's midwife is here rescued from Puritan obscurity and reintroduced to 21st-century America. Anne Hutchinson’s passionate, nonconformist intelligence makes her the most significant woman in pre-Revolutionary America.”
— Peter J. Gomes, Harvard, author of The Good Life
“American Jezebel offers a spirited biography of a stirring figure who pushed the limits of Puritan dissent and paid heavily for it. Hutchinson’s story has often served as an emblem by which to measure the public voices of women in America, and LaPlante's rendering shows how deeply resonant that history remains.”
— Leigh Schmidt, coauthor, A Religious History of America
“This vivid and richly documented book tells the nearly incredible story of a woman who managed, in a male-dominated, religion-obsessed world, to shape the future of New England and New York.”
— Susan Quinn, author of Marie Curie: A Life
“Dazzling ... Splendid.”
— Book-of-the-Month Club
“Powerful characters, a compelling tale, and a strong narrative writer in LaPlante ... [This] fascinating book deserves wide reading. It shows religious zealotry in an American context...from the inside out.”
— Boston Globe
“If reading this book will not make a reader want to recommit him or herself to the true principles of democracy, then I don't know what will.”
— Cedric L. Heppler, American Journal of Theology & Philosophy
“Eve LaPlante throws us into the action and weaves us carefully into Hutchinson’s world in England, Boston, Rhode Island, and New York ... Finally, an author has given us a meticulously-researched guided tour with maps ... In this book the early 1600s come alive...[with their] living habits and the obsession with religion. Thank you, LaPlante, for clarifying the long civic and church trials of Anne Hutchinson, making them lively and readable.”
— Friends of Anne Hutchinson, Portsmouth, RI