Portrait In Grey: A Short History Of The Quakers

by John Punshon

The Quakers are unique among Christians. They do without creeds, clergy, consecrated buildings, and sacraments. They worship in silence and have always had women ministers. Believing God to be at work for good in everyone, they try to get behind outward religious affiliations to respond to that goodness whenever they can.

They are known for philanthropy, inventiveness, zeal for social reform, and hard-headed business sense. They are uncompromising opponents of war and violence of all kinds. In the Nineteenth Century they campaigned in Great Britain and the United States against slavery. In the Twentieth Century their international work as an expression of their Peace Testimony was rewarded with the Nobel Prize.

This book charts the rise of Quakerism, the development of its distinctive way of life, its expansion overseas, and the contributions made by many Friends to intellectual, business, and social life. It seeks to draw a portrait of the Quakers and discerns that in the grey clothing they used to wear as a testimony of their simplicity, there was a prominent thread of gold.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

294 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1984

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accounts of Quaker history written after about the middle of the twentieth century, and especially those covering Quakerism worldwide, seem to be a rare occurrence. Given this scarcity, Punshon is to be commended for attempting to fill the gap. He is clearly a Quaker himself, which adds relevance and insight into the ways in which the historical currents of the Society have influenced its form and practice today. Despite the commendable effort, the finished product leaves something to be desired. Punshon does not write as a seasoned historian, which can be overlooked in light of the lack of alternatives, but this fact certainly has an effect on the work. Punshon's prose can take on an oddly casual and self-aware tone at times, and the sentence construction (especially comma placement) can be tortured. Additionally, his complete lack of foot- or endnotes frustrates any hopes of quickly delving deeper into any particular topic. Punshon also has a tendency to add the suffix "-ites" after a surname to name the followers of a particular individual. This is fine if the term is a commonly accepted term of reference or is consistently established, but Punshon seems to use it as a blanket addition, and the frequent use can become baffling. There are instances of obscure individuals and their followers being briefly introduced early on in the work, then making their next appearance as the "X-ites" over a hundred pages later with no contextual support or reference back.

While not postured as such, this book might appropriately be called "a personal history of the Quakers" due to the tone and reluctance to present a strong thesis of any sort. The prosaic and structural difficulties make this a less than engaging read, but in an area with few alternatives, Punshon provides an adequate history of Quakerism for the curious.

[Genie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have reread this book and am glad I did because I have definitely understood it better. The writing is quite dense, Punshon assumes the reader knows a lot of detailed British history, but there are some good gems here.