Review
Although she was indisputably the first great American woman, Anne Hutchinson, murdered by Puritans, remains one of the most controversial figures of American history. William Dunlea's book (which commemorates the 350th anniversary of Mrs. Hutchinson's death) reaffirms her greatness while probing the controversy that has so long surrounded it. Though she is of particular relevance today as America's first feminist leader, Dunlea shows that only the broadest perspective suffices to define her uniqueness and evaluate her seminal role in the founding of this nation. We see her in the forefront of the struggle for civil liberties in pre-revolutionary America, while at the same time we observe how her phenomenal healing powers made her the fist true physician in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Yet from the outset, Dunlea makes us aware that it is as a pathbreaker, indeed a martyr, in the struggle for religious freedom that Anne Hutchison is of the profoundest and most enduring historical significance. Her extraordinary charisma brought her into conflict with leaders of the Massachusetts Puritan church, who became her implacable spiritual antagonists. Dunlea focuses on this highly dramatic confrontation while exploring its social and political,a as well as religious, context. It is the most comprehensive treatment of the subject has ever received. -- Midwest Book Review
