New Light on George Fox (1624 to 1691): Papers by Twelve British and American Scholars (review)

Book Reviews Edited by Thomas D. Hamm NewLight on GeorgeFox (1624 to 1691): Papers by Twelve British andAmerican Scholars. Ed. by Michael Mullett. York: Sessions, 1994. viii + 162 pp. Notes. Paper, £12.50. This collection of thirteen essays, counting Michael Mullett's Introduction, written for the Lancaster Conference in 1991, reminds me ofthe tale ofthe blind men and the elephant. Thomas Hamm wrote ofthe way in which George Fox was described as a nineteenth century Evangelical by writers of that period, while Richard Bailey claims that Fox believed he and other Friends were divine figures, avatars, partakers of celestial inhabitation, and says that all other interpretations are in error. One essay suggests that Fox had begun to modify the radical behavior ofFriends before the Nayler episode, and another claims it was Nayler's persecution which led him to begin to modify his policies. Christopher Hill's essay was printed without any notes to indicate where the quotations came from, and another contains eleven pages oftext and eight pages ofnotes. However, fourauthors dealtprimarily with thepeacetestimony ofFriends in the years before and immediately after 1 660. There is general agreement that Fox and others, including Margaret Fell Fox and Thomas Ellwood, revised the early records to smooth out the texts and eliminate some of the questionable and even outrageous material. Michael Graves has analyzed the eleven sermons delivered by Fox which are preserved in printed form, and concluded that they all focused on five metaphors. He found the Light-Dark metaphor was pervasive, but added that the Guiding Voice, the Seed, the Hunger-Thirst, and the Pilgrimage and Journey metaphors were also present. Hugh Barbour has compared the use ofthe term "openings" by Fox and John Bunyan. However, Fox sought guidance from the Inward Light to achieve purity, while Bunyan looked to the Scriptures to gain freedom from sin. Kenneth Carroll summarized the concern Fox felt for Friends in America, and especially his visit to the New World in 1671-73, using many documents in addition to the section in the Journal. During those two years he made a point of speaking to persons in authority, and also to the Native Americans and to black slaves, in addition to upholding Quakers in Barbados, and Jamaica, and on the mainland from Massachusetts to the Carolinas. J. William Frost also discussed his relations to Friends in America, with special emphasis on Fox's concern forblacks. He described his belief that slaves were children of God who needed spiritual teaching and deserved to be treated kindly, but he also pointed out that Fox failed to recognize the basic evil in slaveholding. He compared the position taken by William Edmundson (1627-1712) on the sin of slavery with Fox's failure. Larry Ingle freely admits he does not like George Fox even though he spent several years studying his life and career. While he tries to be objective, he does not always succeed. One wonders why Ingle accepts the word ofWilliam Rogers about Fox's money and rejects the denial by Fox. Rogers wrote that Fox "feeds on the fat of the land &, and that he hath twelve or thirteen hundred pounds" which he hid fromtithe collectors. Since we know that Fox lived simply and ate sparingly, why should Rogers' word about the money be accepted? Rogers himselfhad been accused of sheltering his wealth from tithe collectors. Book Reviews153 These essays are uneven, but collectivelythey do shednew light on George Fox, and we are indebted to Michael Mullett for collecting and editing them, to the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust for financial support, and to William Sessions for publishing them. Haverford CollegeEdwin B. Bronner Mary Dyer: Biography of a Rebel Quaker. By Ruth Talbot Plimpton. Boston: Branden, 1994. 247 pp. Maps, chart, illustrations, notes, and index. $21.95. Mary Dyer is an intriguing figure in seventeenth century American religious history. She mayhave beenthe daughter ofArabella Stuart, cousin ofJames I. With her husband, Mary emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was soon drawn to the charismatic person and teaching of Anne Hutchinson. The Dyers followedthe Hutchinsons into exile in Rhode Island. After the execution ofCharles I, Mary returned to England for seven years. There she met andjoined Friends...