Reading Group Guide to
American Jezebel
The Uncommon Life of Anne, Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans
Author: Eve LaPlante
Publisher: HarperOne, a division of HarperCollins
Website: www.evelaplante.com
Available in: Hardcover, 312 pages. $24.95 (ISBN 0060562331)
Paperback, 312 pages. $14.95 (ISBN 0060750561)
E-book, $10.99 (ASIN B0027KRRMK)
About American Jezebel
Anne Hutchinson, a forty-six-year-old midwife pregnant with her sixteenth child, stood before forty male judges of the Massachusetts Court, charged with heresy and sedition. In a time when women could not vote, hold public office, or teach outside the home, the charismatic Hutchinson wielded remarkable political power. Her unconventional ideas had attracted a following of prominent citizens eager for social reform. Hutchinson defended herself brilliantly, but the judges, faced with a perceived threat to public order, banished her for behaving in a manner “not comely for [her] sex.” The book illuminates the origins of our modern concepts of religious freedom, equal rights, and free speech, and showcases an extraordinary woman whose achievements are astonishing by the standards of any era.
Topics to Consider
1. American Jezebel opens in a courtroom, with Anne Hutchinson and John Winthrop as legal opponents. How are Hutchinson and Winthrop alike? How are they different? How do they compare to the Reverend John Cotton?
2. Why was the conflict between grace and works so important to this group of early America settlers? How does this conflict play out in our lives today?
3. What sort of husband was William Hutchinson? How did he contribute to Anne’s work? Could she have accomplished what she did without him?
4. In 1638, explaining the source of her errors, Anne Hutchinson said, “Instead of looking to myself, I looked to men,” implying that “looking to myself” is the proper stance. Discuss how this view foreshadows our modern concepts of individual liberty and freedom of religion and of conscience. You may find links between her statement and later works of American fiction such as Huckleberry Finn, Moby Dick, The Scarlet Letter, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
5. In one of his few recorded statements, made to the ministers of Boston after her excommunication and banishment, William Hutchinson said, “My wife is a dear saint and servant of God.” Was Anne Hutchinson a saint?
6. Near the end of her civil trial, after Anne Hutchinson had cleverly parried the judges’ many charges against her, she practically brought on her own conviction by preaching to the assembled men. Why did she do this?
7. Consider this quote by Amy Schrager Lang, “The problem of Anne Hutchinson is the problem of the public woman.” What is a public woman, and why is she a problem?
8. A reader commented that Anne Hutchinson was not a feminist because she was just following the path of her father, a nonconformist English minister who was jailed for several years by his church. Do you agree? How would you compare Anne Hutchinson’s rebellion to her father’s?
9. Hutchinson’s mentor, the Reverend John Cotton, used a Biblical quote – “as the lily among thorns” – to justify his practice of separating his congregation into “lilies” and “thorns” and worshipping separately with the former group. What was the appeal to Anne Hutchinson of such a theology? Does it appeal to you?
10. Consider Anne Hutchinson’s words to the ministers who excommunicated her from Boston’s First Church of Christ in March 1638, “The Lord judges not as man judges. Better to be cast out of the church than to deny Christ.”
11. What aspects of the Puritan worldview do you see in modern American life?
About the Author
Eve LaPlante, a direct descendant of Anne Hutchinson, is the author of Marmee & Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother (2012), Salem Witch Judge (2007), American Jezebel (2004), and Seized (1993), and the editor of My Heart Is Boundless: Writings of Abigail May Alcott, Louisa’s Mother (2012). LaPlante’s articles appear in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Gourmet, Ladies’ Home Journal, Country Living, and Parents. Visit her online at www.evelaplante.com.
Critical Praise
“A BEST NONFICTION BOOK of the year.”
— Christian Science Monitor
“A powerful biography of a woman who refused to still her voice.”
— Dallas Morning News
“Fast-paced and elegant … A first-rate biography…”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
“What true heroes can I tell my students about? Read LaPlante's biography to make Anne Hutchinson 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.”
— Carol Gilligan, author of In A Different Voice
“Valiant and remarkably successful … LaPlante is particularly good on the sexual mores of the Puritans.”
— Laura Miller, Salon
“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, the master of biography as thriller, tells a familiar story with a novelist’s panache … An enthralling narrative.”
— New York Sun
“A powerful, fascinating book that deserves wide reading.”
— Boston Globe
American Jezebel
The Uncommon Life of Anne, Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans
Author: Eve LaPlante
Publisher: HarperOne, a division of HarperCollins
Website: www.evelaplante.com
Available in: Hardcover, 312 pages. $24.95 (ISBN 0060562331)
Paperback, 312 pages. $14.95 (ISBN 0060750561)
E-book, $10.99 (ASIN B0027KRRMK)
About American Jezebel
Anne Hutchinson, a forty-six-year-old midwife pregnant with her sixteenth child, stood before forty male judges of the Massachusetts Court, charged with heresy and sedition. In a time when women could not vote, hold public office, or teach outside the home, the charismatic Hutchinson wielded remarkable political power. Her unconventional ideas had attracted a following of prominent citizens eager for social reform. Hutchinson defended herself brilliantly, but the judges, faced with a perceived threat to public order, banished her for behaving in a manner “not comely for [her] sex.” The book illuminates the origins of our modern concepts of religious freedom, equal rights, and free speech, and showcases an extraordinary woman whose achievements are astonishing by the standards of any era.
Topics to Consider
1. American Jezebel opens in a courtroom, with Anne Hutchinson and John Winthrop as legal opponents. How are Hutchinson and Winthrop alike? How are they different? How do they compare to the Reverend John Cotton?
2. Why was the conflict between grace and works so important to this group of early America settlers? How does this conflict play out in our lives today?
3. What sort of husband was William Hutchinson? How did he contribute to Anne’s work? Could she have accomplished what she did without him?
4. In 1638, explaining the source of her errors, Anne Hutchinson said, “Instead of looking to myself, I looked to men,” implying that “looking to myself” is the proper stance. Discuss how this view foreshadows our modern concepts of individual liberty and freedom of religion and of conscience. You may find links between her statement and later works of American fiction such as Huckleberry Finn, Moby Dick, The Scarlet Letter, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
5. In one of his few recorded statements, made to the ministers of Boston after her excommunication and banishment, William Hutchinson said, “My wife is a dear saint and servant of God.” Was Anne Hutchinson a saint?
6. Near the end of her civil trial, after Anne Hutchinson had cleverly parried the judges’ many charges against her, she practically brought on her own conviction by preaching to the assembled men. Why did she do this?
7. Consider this quote by Amy Schrager Lang, “The problem of Anne Hutchinson is the problem of the public woman.” What is a public woman, and why is she a problem?
8. A reader commented that Anne Hutchinson was not a feminist because she was just following the path of her father, a nonconformist English minister who was jailed for several years by his church. Do you agree? How would you compare Anne Hutchinson’s rebellion to her father’s?
9. Hutchinson’s mentor, the Reverend John Cotton, used a Biblical quote – “as the lily among thorns” – to justify his practice of separating his congregation into “lilies” and “thorns” and worshipping separately with the former group. What was the appeal to Anne Hutchinson of such a theology? Does it appeal to you?
10. Consider Anne Hutchinson’s words to the ministers who excommunicated her from Boston’s First Church of Christ in March 1638, “The Lord judges not as man judges. Better to be cast out of the church than to deny Christ.”
11. What aspects of the Puritan worldview do you see in modern American life?
About the Author
Eve LaPlante, a direct descendant of Anne Hutchinson, is the author of Marmee & Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother (2012), Salem Witch Judge (2007), American Jezebel (2004), and Seized (1993), and the editor of My Heart Is Boundless: Writings of Abigail May Alcott, Louisa’s Mother (2012). LaPlante’s articles appear in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Gourmet, Ladies’ Home Journal, Country Living, and Parents. Visit her online at www.evelaplante.com.
Critical Praise
“A BEST NONFICTION BOOK of the year.”
— Christian Science Monitor
“A powerful biography of a woman who refused to still her voice.”
— Dallas Morning News
“Fast-paced and elegant … A first-rate biography…”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
“What true heroes can I tell my students about? Read LaPlante's biography to make Anne Hutchinson 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.”
— Carol Gilligan, author of In A Different Voice
“Valiant and remarkably successful … LaPlante is particularly good on the sexual mores of the Puritans.”
— Laura Miller, Salon
“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, the master of biography as thriller, tells a familiar story with a novelist’s panache … An enthralling narrative.”
— New York Sun
“A powerful, fascinating book that deserves wide reading.”
— Boston Globe