Mother Ann Lee: Morning Star of the Shakers

by Nardi Reeder Campion, June Sprigg (Foreword)

The definitive biography of the founder of the Shaker movement, whose remarkable life is the subject of a new film, The Testament of Ann Lee .

This acclaimed, accessible, and thoroughly researched biography documents the life of Ann Lee, a controversial, religious leader and early feminist figure. Lee established the Shaker movement in 1770 in Manchester, England. The core principles of the Shakers were in an era when wives were the possession of their husband, Lee proclaimed the equality of men and women. The Shakers were dedicated to beliefs in absolute pacifism, equality of the sexes, absolute celibacy, and the cleansing of sin through dancing and chanting to shake away the past.

The Shakers sought inner peace and harmony, but their unusual beliefs, including total abstinence from sex and their exhibitions of mystical ecstasy were considered suspect and led to the imprisonment of Lee and her followers. While jailed, Lee experienced a blinding, soul-splitting vision which reaffirmed her belief in celibacy and named her the second coming of Christ. Seeking religious freedom, she led her followers, known as the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, from England to settle in upstate New York, near Albany.

Mother Ann Lee died in 1784, but her movement continued to grow into the nineteenth century with at least eighteen utopian Shaker communities in Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Ohio. Today many of those Shaker settlements are museums. The last remaining Shaker community is at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village near Poland, Maine. The Testament of Ann Lee, starring Amanda Seyfried, drew on this book among other sources to tell Lee’s story.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

189 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 1990

Reviews

[Tamra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the same as Ann the Word, published in 1976. My review of that book follows:

Ann Lee has always fascinated me. So I finally read a book about her.

This book is not a masterpiece. It's like the bare bones version of what you need to know to come away with a basic understanding of Ann Lee's life and the foundation of the Shaker religion. I appreciated, however, that I didn't have to research all the historical accounts myself--it's a nice compilation.

Also to be noted about the book: the author, a woman, has a CLEAR second agenda with this book. And frankly, her blatant feminism gets a little annoying. Not even the 10 Commandments are spared insult.

Having said that, Ann Lee is a fascinating historic figure, with or without any agendas and poetic prose.

I have a hard time completely rejecting Ann Lee and her message without a second thought, because the founding religion stories are similar to the foundation of Mormonism stories which are part of my Mormon culture. I identified strongly with the stories of divine revelation, atypical religious views, the anger of other religious leaders, persecution, hardship while trying to establish Zion on the earth, miracles and healings performed by believers, and a dynamic and charismatic founding leader--even a magnetic person who inspired intense loyalty. ... Skipping out on the details, these are also Mormon tales. So I can't say something like "Ann Lee was crazy" without admitting that Joseph Smith may have been, too.

Whatever Ann Lee was or wasn't, she definitely was fascinating. Any woman who declares herself the female embodiment of Christ, and can convince thousands of people to believe the same, is by my definition fascinating.

I admire her intense determination to live a good life, even if it was a little too intense for my liking, and even if I disagree with her definition of what a good life is. I'll keep my happy marriage and "sexual love," thank you very much.

Shakerism is now down to a handful of people (12 were left in 1976, all women, and the youngest was 42 years old). Ann Lee prophesied that when membership was down to 5 people there would be a revival. For anyone interested in starting a religious revival: the time is now!

Favorite teaching of Ann Lee:
"Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, as often as you can, to all the people you can."

Amen, Sister Lee.

[Liv · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Disclaimer: I always rate history books and biographies highly because it feels weird to “rate” real life.)

I read this book because I was interested in learning more about who Ann Lee was after watching The Testament of Ann Lee (I love Amanda Seyfried, and was stunned by her performance). Until then, I had never even heard of Ann Lee.

It was very interesting to learn about the history. And I appreciate how this book laid out her life chronologically and bluntly, which made it easy to understand and follow.

Ann Lee had a very hard life with a lot of grief and heartbreak and it’s inspiring how she stayed so positive despite it all.

I was also impressed, after having read the book, that the movie seemed to follow Ann Lee’s life pretty accurately.

[abby j · Rating 5 out of 5]

a beautiful insight into the mother of american feminism. i think we all need a little more of the compassion and inclusion mother ann provided.

[Ruth L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview of the Shakers and Mother Ann Lee. I just watched the film The Testament of Ann Lee, which was about the Shakers and this book and a few others were used. If you have any interest in her or the Shakers, either would work for you.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating history book. I loved how thorough the author was about citing her sources, and providing places for more research, and examining the biases of her sources. You can also tell the author is passionate about this subject and the history of Ann Lee.
I do think, however, the author herself used a bit too much bias when telling this history, while I love the passion she has for the subject, I wish she'd toned down the opinionated tone when writing about Ann Lee. I also think she relied too often on speculation regarding Ann Lee's thoughts, or those who criticized the Shakers- the lines speculating on why Ann Lee valued celibacy were entirely unrelated to the history, and provided nothing to the book.
On the other hand, this was a great history of someone I knew nothing about. The author gave a great amount of context for both before and after the Shaker movement, including where the movement is today and what the goals of the Shakers were and how they've changed. She also provided great context for religious movements that led to or coincided with Ann Lee's appearance. It was a solid history of a fascinating woman!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I read this so I would have a better idea of who Ann Lee really was before I see “The Testament of Ann Lee” which I’m very excited for? Yes. Was it a good read about a very important woman who never wavered in her commitment to her faith? Also yes. This was a hand-me-down book from a retired minister so it may be a bit hard to stumble upon, but if you find it in a library and want to learn about Ann Lee and the founding of Shakerism, check it out!

[Erin B · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Ann Lee and the Shakers has always fascinated me. Growing up nearby to the “Niskayuna” area they refer to, we attended many field trips to the Shaker Museum. Even our High School was Shaker High. I’ve visited her gravestone, wandered around the pond, and even toured the land they settled on. Learning about what they went through and why they did what they did is such a sad story. This book and also the new movie about Ann Lee’s life were both very well done and informative. Gives me a whole new understanding.

[Ken R · Rating 4 out of 5]

A subgroup that believed in the equality of men and women under the light of God, where the patriarchy could not pierce, leading to a lifetime of torment. Ann Lee never wavered in her beliefs or her way of living & it’s admirable to read about. As a nonbeliever, reading about Ann Lee admittedly sheds new light on my view of organized religion and the kind of progress that can come from the right leaders. The world was not ready for her and I fear it still has a lot of work to do.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, amazing, inspiring
I would recommend this to anyone and everyone with any interest in either religion or American history.

[Terry O. Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this really interesting. I had never heard of Ann Lee. She was clearly a very strong and influential woman of her time.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly interesting person but so so biography. Too much editorializing. Take a drink every time the author says "they must have been...," "she must have been...". Very excited for the Ann Lee movie.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, easy-to-read, biography of Ann Lee, founder of the Shaker movement.