Book Review: Anne Bradstreet by D.B. Kellogg

This book is from a series of biographies called Christian Encounters. Anne Bradstreet was a Puritan whose family helped establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She was a devout woman, wife and mother. She was also a well-educated, thoughtful and insightful poet. Not only were her works published, but they were also popularly and critically acclaimed. At a time when many women were unable to move beyond the common societal expectations, she did so with grace and humility. Other strong women were excommunicated or even executed for overstepping their place as "the weaker sex," but Anne Bradstreet was an example to strong, smart women while maintaining the respect of her peers.

Because I like history (especially colonial America) and New England and poetry and reading about ground-breaking women, I enjoyed this book. I found it to have quite a lot of information, which caused it to be a little heavy or dry at times. Also, I sometimes had a hard time keeping up with many of the minor characters or the timeline and felt the organization could have been a little better. There was so much information presented, almost an overview of the whole age/colony, rather than a deeper look into Bradstreet's faith or personality. Still, I'd recommend this book to someone looking for a biography or an interesting book on church history.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”