First Wives' Club

by Clare Heath-Whyte

The Reformation was a time of exciting and radical change. The leaders would have been under great pressure as they stood firmly for their convictions in the face of danger and threats. What would it have been like for the women who stood beside and supported them?

Although many of these pressures are totally alien to us today, we still face the same challenge of standing firm for the gospel in a world which is against the God of the Bible.

In this companion to Old Wives’ Tales Clare Heath–Whyte once again shows us the importance of learning from the past. She tells the stories of six Reformation wives including Katie Luther, Katharina Zell and Idelette Calvin. She honestly portrays how they endeavoured to live godly lives during this tumultuous period in history.

Get to know the fascinating stories of these six courageous, hard–working wives. Learn from their mistakes and struggles, and be encouraged by their examples.

Genres: Christian, Christian Non Fiction, Biography, Nonfiction

174 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2014

About the author

Clare Heath-Whyte is a popular speaker and author of Old Wives Tales and First Wives Club . Clare is Vaughan Robert's sister and is married to David who is a vicar who writes groovy tunes and they have two children. She lives in Morden, South London.

Reviews

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Reformation and the Reformers are an interesting part of world and church history, but I confess I never gave much consideration to their wives or what it was like for a woman in that situation. This had me eager to pick up Clare Heath-Whyte's slender volume of mini bios on six reformer's wives.

Clare Heath-Whyte approached each woman with a different focus in mind for each of their chapters and brought out each woman's unique personal and godly traits that made them who they were. She blended her own carefully research from available historical data like letters or the writings from or on these women's husbands and also the general history of the time when it came to women of their situation and status. I found it an eye-opener in many ways.

But, this was also formatted for personal or group book studies as each woman's bio ended with a study guide page of several questions referencing back to the bio and to Bible passages that speak on the focal point of the chapter. In the back, the author shares her bibliographical references for readers to do further study into the lives of these women and/or their Reformer husbands.

The chapters are easily read and the whole book is slender and inviting even for those who have little time to read.

All in all, this was a winning combo and I plan to continue further with the other books the author has written of Christian women of the past. Definitely recommend.

[Chris Damant · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a nice idea but I don't think it really worked. It was supposed to be an encouragement to woman but there was so much conjecture that it's hard to know what most of these women really contributed to the reformation, other then being married (often unhappily) to important men.

But the main problem is that this book fails to emphasise one of the main claims of the reformation itself: salvation by grace alone.

The main message is that these women achieved greatness (albeit often only through their husbands) by working really hard in often very difficult circumstances and in often very difficult marriages. But by persevering they pulled through and God was glorified through their hard work.

I found the stories quaint and interesting but very nearly got sucked into the usual 'yeh, I should really start doing X, Y and Z, because God really needs to use me.' And then I remembered the wonderful truths these women gave their lives for and decided to disregard all the main points of this book.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be completely fair to the book, my expectations were different then what I got from it. Having spent the last few years reading about the reformers, both biographies and some of their own works, I was excited to find a book about their wives. Much of my former reading on the subject had been more academic, which was my expectation here. While the book is well referenced it is written in a simpler style. Much of what I read I found I was already familiar with.
All that said, if you are looking for an introduction to the leaders of the reformation and their families this is a good place to start. It is also written simply enough it would be a good introduction for a school age girl to read.
Each chapter focuses on a different woman and at the end there are verses to look up and discussion questions. The author does do a good job of "taking them off the pedestal" and looking at their faults and what we can learn from them.

[Liz Recalde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. I loved learning about the 16th century reformer’s wives. It was incredibly challenging and humbling to read about the kind of things these women had to endure. These were such turbulent times, not only because of the reformation, but also high infant mortality, and repeated epidemics of the bubonic plague. These women were not perfect, but their faith, tenacity, and hospitality is incredible. Clare Heath-Whye has done amazing job of recounting these women’s stories and helping us learn lessons from them with an added bible study at the end of each chapter. The book is very well researched and well written. A delight to read.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved learning about the wives of the reformation in the 1500s! Life was so different back then and it gave me a deeper appreciation for the reformers, who were regular people used by God, and the trials they endured as they fought to share the truth of God's Word.

[Laura Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book that I couldn't put down.
It tells the stories of six women, all wives of famous men involved in the reformation of the church in the 1500s. It was incredibly inspiring to read how devoted they were to Christ and the gospel despite struggling through all kinds of suffering.
Recommended to all Christian women - some great role models!

[Ashley McKnight · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second one of Clare Heath-Whyte's books I have read, and I found to be as delightful as the other "Old Wives' Tales". It is a lively, accessible look at the lives of women from the past and what we can learn from both their merits and their failings. Study questions at the end of each chapter make it very practical as well as encouraging.

[Lexi Zuo · Rating 5 out of 5]

So so good!! Finished it in just one day. I loved this collection of short biographies of Reformer’s wives! It encouraged and challenged me in many ways. It was a delight to learn of new Christian women I’ve never heard of before and learn more details from some women I’ve loved for many years! Highly recommend this book!

[Mrs M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read to learn about the ways of christian women in the 16th century and how 21st century can learn from these inspirational women. What I found the most helpful though was the bible passage and questions that related to the woman you'd just read about. Great read though and interesting to compare how society has changed and how the expectations of women have changed.

[Malvina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set against the background of the 1500's, these are the often untold stories of the wives whose husbands drove the Reformation. Their faith and resilience in such times is remarkable; it is great to hear their side of the story.

[Karen Crouch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It made me appreciate what it would have been like to be a Pastor's wife in the early days of the reformation and encouraged me in my own Christian walk as a Pastor's wife.

[Ra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad this book ended! Insightful, engaging accounts of the lives of women living several hundreds of years ago during the Reformation. What could we 21st century readers possibly learn from them? Each chapter ends with questions to help us reflect from a biblical worldview. Highly recommend.

[Anne-laure · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book all Christian women should read. It shows faithful women serving God, and also other exemples we should not follow even though they were married to great reformators in the past!

[Jacinta patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and easy read with some helpful applications and amazing lives of some women.

[Irene Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy and interesting read, learned so much about 6 wives of 6 men who were prominent in the work of the Reformation.

[LS · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories of the wives of prominent religious figures during the reformation in the 1500s.
A good historical piece of literature with a focus on the female role. The arrangement of most marriages floated to the surface as a common theme.
It was slightly repetitive for me, so the end of the book took longer to finish.

[Jenny Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very encouraging. Life of the wives of Luther, Calvin and more. All very difficult lives.

[Heather Pitts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, interesting, and easy to read. I enjoyed it as a relatively light read, but agree with one of the other reviewers that it includes quite a bit of what seems to be conjecture.