For hundreds of years, people have been drawn to daily devotionals. They hunger for nuggets of wisdom, words quickly eaten and digested, with a high return of theological nutrition for the time invested. Devotional writers, such as Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, experienced enormous publishing success, with classics such as Streams in the Desert exerting a quiet yet significant cultural influence. Despite their enormous contributions to the formation of a still-popular genre, women of devotion have been ignored by historians—until now. Fascinated and disturbed by the invisibility of women devotional writers, Cheryl Forbes brings to light for the first time the stories of the writers whose words still have such inestimable influence. She links the devotional daybook to the past—to writers such as Teresa of Ávila—and to the present, where a secularized devotional such as Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach rules the best-seller lists. Women of Devotion is a critical and literary history, a commentary on the culture of the time, and a critique of our own reading habits. Most of all, it is an inspiring look at committed women of the past whose work continues to challenge us today.
- Type: Book
Author:
Published Date: March 1, 2001
Book Info
- Publisher: Baker Book House
- Year: 2001
- ISBN:978-0801063510
