The Woman in the Wilderness [Hardcover]

Jonathan D. Scott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2005

This historical novel catapults the reader into the religious turbulence of the 17th century. It brings to life the true story of Johannes Kelpius, a brilliant young scholar whose spiritual quest leads him from a dark Transylvanian tunnel to a forbidden gathering of initiates in Germany to a mysterious tabernacle hidden near an ancient gorge in Pennsylvania.

On Christmas Eve 1815, a young German-American girl named Lydia receives three strange gifts from a dying aunt. Curious about their origins, she plunges herself into the mystery of a strange seventeenth-century community called "The Woman in the Wilderness" and its young leader, Johannes Kelpius.

For the past three hundred years, stories of wizardry and witchcraft, healing and piety, have surrounded Johannes Kelpius, his brethren in the community, and their tabernacle in the virgin forest. Centuries-old traditions link Kelpius with the Rosicrucians, the Freemasons, and the alchemists’ search for the legendary Philosopher’s Stone.

Together with Lydia, the reader learns the remarkable story of the origins of this enigmatic community, their journey to America, and their establishment of a settlement on a ridge overlooking the romantic Wissahickon Valley, just outside the infant city of Philadelphia.

Here is the true story of Johannes Kelpius and his companions, brought to life as historical fiction. The Woman In The Wilderness is a vivid adventure of religious conflict, spiritual growth, and the dazzling wonder of history in the making.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you do not read another book this season, read this one! Then give copies to your friends." -- Innerchange Magazine

"Not since Celestine Prophesy has an author skillfully combined history with myth-making to produce a masterpiece of mystical insight." -- John K. Simmons, creator of the PBS teleclass, Beliefs and Believers

"Scott has written a rare book in this category -- a spiritual adventure story that is actually exciting to read." -- ForeWordreviews.com

"Tells of the pain of the voyage through this life's wilderness and the never-ceasing desire to find meaning" -- Philadelphia Inquirer

About the Author

Jonathan D. Scott was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, across the Schuylkill River from the site of Johannes Kelpius' tabernacle in the woods. Growing up, he became intimately acquainted with the forests of the Wissahickon Valley, the setting for much of The Woman In The Wilderness. Scott spent nearly five years researching the historical and legendary aspects of this mysterious sect and its elusive leader. Scott’s personal affinity for the landscape of the Wissahickon Valley and his long-time interest in the diffusion of Eastern spiritual philosophy in medieval Europe make him the ideal author to tell this extraordinary story.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Middleton Books (February 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971661154
• ISBN-13: 978-0971661158
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,801,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Next da Vinci Code?, March 8, 2005

By 

J. Leitschuh "http://www.Funfreedom.com" (NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Woman in the Wilderness (Hardcover)

What a strange and extraordinary new book.

With it's seekers of knowledge and true wisdom, secret societies, Old Europe science, New World adventures, mystics meditating in Pennsylvania caves, genuine history and examinations of the nature of intolerance, rigidity and fear, this book is like nothing I've yet read.

Toss in a hefty dose of alchemical/astrological/astronomical mysteries (such as the curious and remarkable Holographicum, an instrument that no less than Benjamin Franklin comes to inherit, and is actually on public display in an obscure museum in Philadelphia today), and I think this is a recipe for a blockbuster, break-out book.

I appreciated author Scott's final notes, untangling factual events from fictional narrative. The depth of research into a multitude of obscure topics is evident.

I'm not certain how to categorize this historical novel, but I read it straight through in a weekend, cover to cover.

Perhaps it is best not pigeonholed, but left to speak for itself. That, in itself, seems to be one of the driving points of the book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystical Tour de Force, August 25, 2006

By 

E. IBRAHIM (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Woman in the Wilderness (Hardcover)

Its very rare to come across such a well researched AND well written novel. The author has lived in close proximity to the actual places where the action of the novel takes place. I commend him on doing such fine work making the subject matter and the belief systems of the protagonists both accessible and illuminating to ones own spiritual work. This novel can therefore be read on several levels. I believe any student of mysticism and especially of the Rosicrucian, Sufi and Martinist varieties will find great nourishment here. Kelpius the main character who at a very young age was chosen to lead an early migration of free thinkers and mystics on their migration to the the New World is largely unknown. I think he would have been very happy with this account of his life and interaction with the wide milieu of characters from the time of his youth in Transylvania and Germany and his sensitive meeting withe native americans and local ruffian elements in Pennsylvania. I was particularly impressed by the author's ability to weave elements from a diverse number of sources into a cohesive whole. I recommend this book very highly both for its well written storyline, which is very inspirational since in a sense every mystic is also laboring in a wilderness surrounded by ignorance and self promotion as well as for the deep research which is intelligently presented.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't put it down!, December 9, 2009

By 

Lise "voracious reader" (VT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Woman in the Wilderness (Hardcover)

This story draws you in effortlessly, and immerses you in captivating historical fiction. five thumbs up!