Customer Reviews

American Priestess: The Extraordinary Story of Anna Spafford and the American Colony in Jerusalem

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For anyone with mid-western ancestors, this phenomenal religious and protestant work ethic mentality makes me ever more curious about my great grandparents and their beliefs and life style. It's simply fascinating. From the Chicago fire, to the strong belief in retuning all Jews to Palestine and converting them to Christianity ---an incredible piece of our past. And so very exciting to discover.

For anyone who was taken by "the devil and the white city", this is a must read!

Here is an extraordinary story about an international group of people who immigrated to Jerusalem to await the Second Coming led by Anna and Horatio Spafford beginning in 1881. The American Colony as they were known settled in a compound situated in the Old City in the Arab Quarter between the Damascus Gate and Herod's Gate. Jane Geniesse writes with fairness about the leader, charismatic Anna Spafford, who was appalling in many ways but also the positive force in developing welcome and lasting social services for any of the local people in need. (Of course much can be accomplished with mostly unpaid workers who are dependent on their leader for food, shelter and salvation.)
This was like reading three books: Immigration to America, tough times in Chicago and Protestant Evangelism (and dipping into the till); The growth of The American Colony with its vague religious ideas; and The Middle East spanning the two world wars. Her research on the Spaffords, their descendents,the civil, military and religious personalities who lived through the political turmoil of the region resulted in a broad portrait of that era.
The American Colony Hotel on the grounds of the compound continues to be a favored setting for celebrities,spies, diplomats,journalists, tourists and politicians. Until her death in June, 2008, Valentine Vesper, the granddaughter-in-law of the Spaffords and proprietor, lived there. Be sure to go on-line to tour this beautiful hotel.

Adding to Furman Baldwin's commentary on "American Priestess" by Jane Fletcher Geniesse, I too am a 3rd generation descendant of the first wave of members who joined Anna Spaford's American Colony in Jerusalem. Our fathers, Furman and Norman,were sons of Reverend Edward F. Baldwin who with four of his children became early members. Also my mother was 9 years old when her parent and siblings from Nas, Sweden joined the "Overcomers" in 1891.

Like cousin Furman,I learned more about our family background from the book than from our parents and all who knew them, combined.

The story at times shocking, is meticulously researched as to characters and covers decades of fascinating social, economic and historic background from the mid 1800's to modern times. The author's deft use of language is a refreshing force to expand one's vocabulary.

Without sharing much credit for many positive accomplishments of the American Colony, founder/leader Anna kept tight reins on the colonists by revealing to them her divine guidance undergirded by faith, ego and nepotism. The saga is a revealation of the depth and breadth of human potential for good and evil.

If after reading the book, I'd be pleased to hear from any other descendants of the colonists with new informatioin to add. Norman T. Baldwin (baljunor@aol.com).

Jane Geniesse has transformed years of prodigious research into a captivating tale. "Heroine" is an odd term for Anna Spafford, the American Priestess, because, in addition to her astounding courage and boundless ambition, she ends up abusing her power and forcing her followers into behaviors that do not serve them well. But she is an astonishing figure of a woman, fascinating as she grows from orphaned child to divinely-connected sect leader. Among the riveting passages of this book: the description of the shipwreck in which Anna lost four daughters, the group's adventures in Jerusalem as they settled in to this historic city, and the twists and turns of her struggle against the resident American consul, who sought to undermine her little empire. An unusual story, a cast of remarkable historical figures, and a terrific read.

Jane Geniesse has painted an intriguing portrait of a fascinatingly complex woman. Whether a tyrant or saint, Anna Spafford's Christian Zionism and her devotees won the admiration of Jews and Muslims even as she scandalized mainstream Christians and the US State Department with her unorthodox practices and beliefs. There was no room in her "American colony" for boundaries of national, racial, religious or social attachment that might limit its good works. The "colony" became a model of energetic competence and non-proselytizing Christian universalism, even running hospitals for the Turks in war when America was fighting on the other side. A thought-provoking primer on what makes a difference in relations with the "other."

John W. Kiser ("The Monks of Tibhirine," "Commander of the Faithful: the Life and Times of Emir Abd el-Kader")

Jane Geniesse tells a fast-moving, rigorously reseaarched tale of a Chicago society woman who loses her children in a cross-Atlantic shipwreck, later accompanies her deadbeat husband, wiped out in the Chicago fire, to Jerusalem at the head of a group of evangelical believers in the imminence of Armageddon. Her husband dies and she becomes the leader of the group, which persists in the Holy Land for decades through many adventures and leaves behind the American Colony hotel, still a Jerusalem landmark.

Hi Jane:
> I have just finished reading American Priestess. I am
> most impressed by the tremendous amount of research
> that must have gone into it.
> As the child of two former Colony members I had, of
> course, heard of some of the conditions under which
> they lived. I only had bits and pieces and never knew
> in detail the full story. Your book filled in all the
> blanks and even set the scene with the background of
> the epic changes that were occurring in the Middle
> East during those times.
> Your perspective of the whole Colony situation was
> very much like that of my parents. You may be
> interested in what I had heard about Bertha's visit to
> Buffalo in 1922. As you indicated my parents had no
> love for her after the treatment they had received
> from her and her mother. They were very surprised that
> she would visit with them. However, they received her
> civilly. When Bertha first arrived she hid her true
> feelings about these people who had become
> disenchanted with the Colony and had left. My mother
> told me she walked into the Baldwin parlor where, as a
> baby of a few months I was lying in a crib and
> exclaimed, "Oh Fareedy, he is a prince."
> As for her comments following the visit stating that
> she was contemptuous of their "efforts to support
> themselves as photographers" and "they had made no
> impression on Buffalo" they were belied by the fact
> that the Baldwin Studio was one of Buffalo's leading
> photographic studios. This was before the days when
> large companies had their own photo departments and
> and my father's clients included; Ford Motor Company,
> Buffalo Gasoline Engine, Pratt and Lambert, Sterling
> Engine and many other large firms. His portraiture won
> National prizes in the Professional Photo Categories.
> Although Lewis Larsson as head of the photo department
> of the Colony gets most credit for the Colony
> pictures, my father was one of the chief
> photographers. for example in Mia Grondahl's book,
> "The Dream of Jerusalem" there are many references to
> his contributions such as, " In 1907 Furman Baldwin
> departed on a year-long photographic expedition to
> India and Ceylon. The result was hundreds upon
> hundreds of stereographic pictures of fakirs, street
> life, temples and landscapes, revealing a top class
> stereophotographer."
> It is interesting to note that a Colony policy was to
> deny credit to the individual photographers for their
> work and to label all photos "The American Colony
> Photographers."
> As I read and reread my mother's memoirs and my
> Grandmother's diaries I am continually fascinated by
> their experiences. The material you have presented has
> enriched their stories for me.
> Congratulations on achieving such a wonderful
> accomplishment!
> With all best wishes, Furman S. Baldwin

I was enthralled by this book: by the fascinating story, by the author's skill in carrying out her undertaking of combining a vast sweep of history from the industrial revolution in the Middle Western United States to the roots of the intractable hostilities in the world's Middle East, with deftly included studies of mmigration and migration, the fervor of l9th century religiosity, and layers upon layers all woven tightly together by a human narrative vividly told and nearly unique. A Shipwreck! A heroine at once awesome, fearsome, and overwhelmingly interesting. Who knew the American Colony Hotel in Jersusalem, a way station of select world travelers for a century, had such an amazing beginning? "Who knew?" is something a reader will mutter every few pages. The compression of so much history and so much research is so deft that it gives every impression of ease, becoming a compelling read. That most difficult acheivement is matched by the triumph of telling the human narrative with equally accomplished skill. This book takes you places you may never have imagined you wanted to go, and you will be so grateful for the journey.

This is one of the more informative books written regarding the history of Americans who had influence in Jerusalem and the holy land in the last century. The author has researched her subject thoroughly and made a complex story interesting and understandable. Well worth your time and effort.

A Book for those who love the Exotic and the Unusual

Jane Geniesse's book "American Priestess: The Extraordinary Story of Anna Spafford and the American Colony in Jerusalem" brings alive another time. Geniesse follows the passion of a Chicago heiress, Anna Spafford, to search for the exotic beauty in ancient Jerusalem. Following the footsteps of Gertrude Bell and Freya Stark, Geniesse creates yet yet another devoted heroine of the Near East in her book. Starting as a wealthy pasha's fort like villa, The American Colony Hotel has survived for more than a century as a place where international diplomats, correspondents, American and English expatriates met and discussed the issues of the day. The lure of the hotels' oriental decor with its Moorish arches and tiles, wooden coffered ceilings, and a cool enclosed courtyard with fountains and lemon trees which can still be found on the outside of the old walls and the Old city's Damascus Gate.