Customer Reviews

The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy and the History of Christian Science

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In 1906 Georgine Milmine, a newspaperwoman who had spent years assembling an enormous collection of material about Mary Baker Eddy but doubted her own ability to write on the subject, sold it to McClures Magazine. Interest in Christian Science was at its height at the time, and McClure's turned the project over to Willa Cather, who was 32 years old and had 32 published short stories to her credit, but whose days as a great novelist still lay in the future.

Although Ms. Cather publicly disclaimed credit for the resulting series of articles which form the basis of this book, the editors provide convincing proof that she wrote it.

In addition to being a highly entertaining account of the rise of one of the more fascinating characters in American religious history and the church she founded, the book provides extensive factual detail to anyone seriously interested in the history of either. While it is critical of Mrs. Eddy, it is also complimentary. Factually accurate and extensively documented., it is perhaps the most objective account available of a truly remarkable woman and her church.

Although the book was the subject of favorable reviews when it was published in 1910, the response of the church was, predictably, less enthusiastic. According to the afterword, even before it was published, "three spokesmen for the Christian Science church visited the McClure's office and tried to suppress the series of articles. Christian Scientists were said to have later bought and destroyed most copies of the book, and library copies were said to be kept out of general circulation through constant borrowings by church members... The copyright for the Milmine book was purchased by a friend of Christian Science, the plates from which the book was printed were destroyed, and the manuscript also acquired. That this happened is supported by the fact that the manuscripts for the 'Milmine' book are held in the Archives and Library of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston." (pp. 497-498)

Perhaps the most important contribution that this book makes is to present Mrs. Eddy and her church in the context of their time. There is a tendency today to present her as an early oppressed feminist. That interpretation should be compared with Ms. Cather's hard-nosed assessment:: "The result of Mrs. Eddy's planning and training and pruning is that she has built up the largest and most powerful organization ever founded by any woman in America. Probably no other woman so handicapped-so limited in intellect, so uncertain in conduct, so tortured by hatred and hampered by petty animosities-has ever risen from a state of helplessness and dependence to a position of such power and authority... The growth of her power has been extensive as well as intensive." (p. 480)

In fact, the only complaint in an otherwise favorable review by a student of nervous disorders in the American Historical Review (Vol 15, July 1910), was that the author did "not do enough to explain the abnormal psychology of the founder of Christian Science-the record of hysteria, hypochondria, and the delusion of persecution." (p.498)

Well worth reading

I purchased this in order to read some of Willa Cather's early journalistic efforts and at the same time learn more about the founder of Christian Science from a person who was contemporary with her. It was an eye-opener with several gems of the English language.

Raised a Christian Scientist, I was never told about any of Mrs. Eddy's alleged shortcomings. While her legacy remains a wonderful healing principle, her actual time on this planet seems to have been a burlesque of self-generated pain and suffering.

Anyone who wants to know more about Christian Sciece should read this book.

This book is an example of the muckraking school of journalism.

It also contains valuable primary source information on Christian Science that is not available anywhere else. In fact, the official Christian Science biographer of Mary Baker Eddy, Robert Peel, relies heavily on the Milmine information in his own three-volume work.

Sadly, journalistic standards of the time did not provide as much detail about sources and data collection as modern scholars would like.

And since the Christian Science church holds the original source information in its closely guarded archives, an independent examination of this evidence is now impossible. (According to Gillian Gill, an Eddy biographer who was given limited access to some archival holdings, the church purchased this information, possibly along with the original bookplates.)

Still, this book will be engaging for Cather scholars, for historians of journalism, and for readers interested in a perspective on Christian Science/Eddy which is unavailable from the church.

As someone whoe has often wandered past the 'Reading Rooms' and wondered what they were all about, this book was very interesting - much as some of the books on the founding of Scientology have been to me. To quote Thomas Disch: "Mrs Eddy's followers did all they could to supress [this book's original] publication, and when that effort failed, they brought up all the copies they could and checked it out of libraries, permanently. Further, the copyright was purchased by a friend of Christian Science, the plates from which the book was printed were destroyed and the original manuscript alos acquired." Says a lot (sic) for a religion if they are that scared of free speech and questioning in an open forum. Wasn't Stalin good at rewriting history and facts to suit his own purposes? At least we can now read all the information and make our own opinions...

Take the gaseous denunciation by the true believer as an endorsement of this timeless debunking biography. (CS complaints about this book are always based on "new information" kept under lock and key by the church so it can't be checked by any unbiased researcher.) Christian Science malarkey sentenced my sister to a needless early death.

More recent scolarship has shown this biography to be a polemic not a biography. See more scholarly work by Gillian Gill especially her comments on page 563 about Milmine's work.

This book presents a wealth of interesting insights into Mary Baker Eddy and the founding of the Christian Science. And it is very convincing in its view that Mary Baker Eddy received much of her spiritual information through her one-time mentor Phineaus P. Quimby. It is unfortunate that she did not credit him as she probably should have, but this book dwells too much on that particular aspect. What is more important, in my estimation, is that she gained a good understanding and then managed to communicate and circulate these ideas to others.

I have years of metaphysical study under my belt, and I feel I have a very good understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as He meant it. (I am writing a book on the subject.) Although I came to my conclusions long before I investigated Christian Science, Ms. Eddy obviously found many of the same deep truths.

Truth is One, and opinion is not Truth. Man is imperfect, and any seeker who wants to find the deepest Truth must discover what Christ is truly saying. The orthodox understanding of the Gospels comes to us through men and doctrines of the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries of the current era, when the earth was in the very darkest part of its cycle (as the wisest in the East realize: see The Holy Science by Sri Yuktswar). Jesus said the He did not come to change, but to fulfill the Law, which is Love. God is not limited, and in modern times Christ has clarified His Gospel for those with "ears to hear." A Course in Miracles is the ultimate teacher for those who are ready for it. And if one studies it, one will see that P. Quimby and Mary Baker Eddy were indeed onto something well ahead of the rest of us in the West (though we are but children compared to the East, which has long understood and kept many of these ancient truths alive). [The Second Coming of Christ, a two volume set by Paramhansa Yogananda, is a revelation of the true meaning of the New Testament, and his Autobiography of a Yogi is a must-read for all Spiritual seekers.]

I recommend you read The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy and the History of Christian Science - but only after you read all of the other material I have mentioned in this review!

God Blesses!

December 2007 The Mary Baker Eddy Library has the real and whole story. I think that it must have been built to make everything available to everybody. Before you get lopsided on this book, better visit or call MBE Library for the Betterment of Humanity.
The real test of all this is to read her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. When you feel the change that comes over your whole life you'll be in a better position to write a review. And, it doesn't matter if you are an atheist, a Mormon, catholic or anything in between.

It seems that all the reviews here show a bias that was held before this particular book was read. If one had a a prejudice agains Christian Science, they thought the book was wonderful. If one was in favor of Christian Science, they thought the book was terrible.

My feeling is, that at least in the US where we treasure religious freedon, to write a book that trashes another's belief is despicable. Everyone should be able to follow their beliefs without someone trashing them.

I am not Catholic, but I am not going to write a book denouncing the pope.

Dennis R.