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The Gates Ajar
After receiving news that her closest brother has been shot and killed while fighting in the Civil War, Mary Cabot is distraught. Having lost the majority of her family, Mary is left feeling alone and helpless. She seeks solace in the church, her neighbors, and friends, but is unable to find the comfort she needs. Becoming more reserved and losing her faith, Mary is relieved when her widowed aunt, Winnifred, and young cousin from Kansas decide to visit her in Massachusetts. As the women strengthen their bond and share conversations on their trauma, Winniefred offers a new perspective, describing her understanding and vision of heaven. Despite its divergence from the traditional Christian idea of the afterlife, Mary begins to heal, unaware that more hardships are around the corner. First published over one-hundred and fifty years ago in 1868, The Gates Ajar established author Elizabeth Stuart Phelps' career, earning her fame and recognition for her emotional and reflective spiritualist novel. Inspired by her own experience of losing loved one to the Civil War, Phelps wrote The Gates Ajar to assuage the pain of death in ways the Christian church was not providing. Quickly rising to fame, The Gates Ajar sold thousands of copies and inspired a new vision of heaven that really resonated with its audience, leading to references in music, literature, and even floral arrangements. With sympathetic characters, a relatable plot, and gorgeous imagery, The Gates Ajar remains to stimulate modern readers and addresses timeless topics that remain approachable and relevant. This edition of The Gates Ajar by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps features an eye-catching new cover design and is presented in a font that is both modern and readable. With these accommodations, this edition is accessible and appealing to contemporary audiences, restoring The Gates Ajar to modern standards while preserving the original intelligence and impact of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps' work.
130 pages, Paperback
First published July 8, 1869
12 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward
137 books22 followersElizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward, born Mary Gray Phelps, was an American author.
She was born at Andover, Massachusetts. In most of her writings she used her mother's name "Elizabeth Stuart Phelps" as a pseudonym, both before and after her marriage in 1888 to Herbert Dickinson Ward, a journalist seventeen years younger. She also used the pseudonym Mary Adams. Her father Austin Phelps was pastor of the Pine Street Congregational Church until 1848, when he accepted a position as the Chair of Rhetoric at Andover Theological Seminary and moved the family to Boston.
Ward wrote three Spiritualist novels, The Gates Ajar, Between the Gates and Beyond the Gates, and a novella about animal rights, Loveliness. While writing other popular stories, she was also a great advocate, by lecturing and otherwise, for social reform, temperance, and the emancipation of women. She was also involved in clothing reform for women, urging them to burn their corsets in 1874.
Ward's mother, Elizabeth (Wooster) Stuart Phelps, (August 13, 1815—November 30, 1852) wrote the Kitty Brown books under the pen name H. Trusta.
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and her husband co-authored two Biblical romances in 1890 and 1891. Her autobiography, Chapters from a Life was published in 1896 after being serialized in McClure's. She also wrote a large number of essays for Harper's
Phelps continued to write short stories and novels into the twentieth century. One work, Trixy (1904), dealt with another cause she supported, anti-vivisection (a topic on which she also addressed the Massachusetts State Legislature). Her last work, Comrades (1911), was published posthumously. Phelps died January 28, 1911, in Newton Center, Massachusetts.
She was born at Andover, Massachusetts. In most of her writings she used her mother's name "Elizabeth Stuart Phelps" as a pseudonym, both before and after her marriage in 1888 to Herbert Dickinson Ward, a journalist seventeen years younger. She also used the pseudonym Mary Adams. Her father Austin Phelps was pastor of the Pine Street Congregational Church until 1848, when he accepted a position as the Chair of Rhetoric at Andover Theological Seminary and moved the family to Boston.
Ward wrote three Spiritualist novels, The Gates Ajar, Between the Gates and Beyond the Gates, and a novella about animal rights, Loveliness. While writing other popular stories, she was also a great advocate, by lecturing and otherwise, for social reform, temperance, and the emancipation of women. She was also involved in clothing reform for women, urging them to burn their corsets in 1874.
Ward's mother, Elizabeth (Wooster) Stuart Phelps, (August 13, 1815—November 30, 1852) wrote the Kitty Brown books under the pen name H. Trusta.
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and her husband co-authored two Biblical romances in 1890 and 1891. Her autobiography, Chapters from a Life was published in 1896 after being serialized in McClure's. She also wrote a large number of essays for Harper's
Phelps continued to write short stories and novels into the twentieth century. One work, Trixy (1904), dealt with another cause she supported, anti-vivisection (a topic on which she also addressed the Massachusetts State Legislature). Her last work, Comrades (1911), was published posthumously. Phelps died January 28, 1911, in Newton Center, Massachusetts.
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February 9, 2023
This is my 1000th book read and rated on Goodreads!
'The Gates Ajar' is an 1868 religious and epistolary novel written in the aftermath of the American Civil War. The protagonist, Mary Cabot, is reeling and grieving after the death of her beloved brother Roy (she REALLY loves him). Her anguish is not assuaged by the dour doctrine of her Calvinist ministers but when her widowed Aunt Winifred Forceythe comes to stay (along with her young daughter), Mary finds consolation in her conversations with Winifred about the afterlife. Winifred's vision of the afterlife is far rosier than what is offered by her church's religious leaders. Winifred claims that Heaven will be like a big family reunion, that Mary will know and be loved by her departed brother, that Heaven will have beautiful scenery and nature, splendid homes, and that what fulfilling passions and labour we have here in this life will be furthered and refined in even more wonderful ways (e.g. Abinadab Quirk is told by Winifred that "I imagine that your fancy for machinery will be employed in some way. Perhaps you will do a great deal more inventing there than you will here"). Though Phelps was dogged by accusations she was a spiritualist or a heterodox Christian, one sees in her book themes that are common in Christian circles today (indeed, N.T. Wright is but one leading voice insisting that we won't be "only visiting this planet" but that Heaven will come down to Earth and Christian teaching on vocation notes that work is not necessarily the "enemy" that we can make it out to be and that the work we find SATISFYING in this life may be continued into the next). Winifred herself is suspected by more cautious, conservative figures like Deacon Quirk, of introducing heretical or at least strange ideas but she dismisses these concerns and insists she too is standing firmly on Scripture (though someone who HAS studied theology will not be all that impressed with her arguments).
This is a curious novel, very didactic, somewhat along the same lines as 'The Great Divorce,' though where C.S. Lewis is sophisticated, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps comes across as more sentimental (this might be somewhat unfair; Aunt Winifred conscripts theological and philosophical minds to her arguments such as Richard Whately and Isaac Taylor though these names are not as familiar to me). If George MacDonald is Lewis' mentor and guide through 'The Great Divorce,' Aunt Winifred is Mary's mentor and guide as her consoling vision of the afterlife - and of the possibility of contact with the deceased in the present life - helps Mary come to terms with her brother's death while also restoring her faith in ways that her minister's grim Calvinism cannot. This novel was wildly popular upon its release, selling 180,000 copies by 1900 in the USA and Europe and helping to shape the modern Christian imagination (again, think 'The Great Divorce' or, more recently, 'The Shack') of Heaven as a place of familial reunion; for that, it is worth reading, as well as being a creative work written by a female novelist that dealt with theology and had an impact on its readers' minds at a time when many women would have been barred from pulpits and theological leadership.
'The Gates Ajar' is an 1868 religious and epistolary novel written in the aftermath of the American Civil War. The protagonist, Mary Cabot, is reeling and grieving after the death of her beloved brother Roy (she REALLY loves him). Her anguish is not assuaged by the dour doctrine of her Calvinist ministers but when her widowed Aunt Winifred Forceythe comes to stay (along with her young daughter), Mary finds consolation in her conversations with Winifred about the afterlife. Winifred's vision of the afterlife is far rosier than what is offered by her church's religious leaders. Winifred claims that Heaven will be like a big family reunion, that Mary will know and be loved by her departed brother, that Heaven will have beautiful scenery and nature, splendid homes, and that what fulfilling passions and labour we have here in this life will be furthered and refined in even more wonderful ways (e.g. Abinadab Quirk is told by Winifred that "I imagine that your fancy for machinery will be employed in some way. Perhaps you will do a great deal more inventing there than you will here"). Though Phelps was dogged by accusations she was a spiritualist or a heterodox Christian, one sees in her book themes that are common in Christian circles today (indeed, N.T. Wright is but one leading voice insisting that we won't be "only visiting this planet" but that Heaven will come down to Earth and Christian teaching on vocation notes that work is not necessarily the "enemy" that we can make it out to be and that the work we find SATISFYING in this life may be continued into the next). Winifred herself is suspected by more cautious, conservative figures like Deacon Quirk, of introducing heretical or at least strange ideas but she dismisses these concerns and insists she too is standing firmly on Scripture (though someone who HAS studied theology will not be all that impressed with her arguments).
This is a curious novel, very didactic, somewhat along the same lines as 'The Great Divorce,' though where C.S. Lewis is sophisticated, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps comes across as more sentimental (this might be somewhat unfair; Aunt Winifred conscripts theological and philosophical minds to her arguments such as Richard Whately and Isaac Taylor though these names are not as familiar to me). If George MacDonald is Lewis' mentor and guide through 'The Great Divorce,' Aunt Winifred is Mary's mentor and guide as her consoling vision of the afterlife - and of the possibility of contact with the deceased in the present life - helps Mary come to terms with her brother's death while also restoring her faith in ways that her minister's grim Calvinism cannot. This novel was wildly popular upon its release, selling 180,000 copies by 1900 in the USA and Europe and helping to shape the modern Christian imagination (again, think 'The Great Divorce' or, more recently, 'The Shack') of Heaven as a place of familial reunion; for that, it is worth reading, as well as being a creative work written by a female novelist that dealt with theology and had an impact on its readers' minds at a time when many women would have been barred from pulpits and theological leadership.
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November 14, 2023For something to be a pleasant surprise, I think, it has to be essentially what you expected but delivered in a way you didn’t. The Gates Ajar was exactly this for me. Phelps wrote it after the US Civil War to address the unassuaged grief of the women of America—in both the North and the South—who had lost fathers, brothers, sons, lovers and husbands, and for whose pain conventional religious ideas about the afterlife were useless at best, cruel at worst. Essentially, Phelps popularised the conception most of us now have of “heaven”: a place where we’re reunited with our loved ones, from which our ancestors can look down on us, and where our fundamental happiness as individuals is important to God. Before this, heaven seems to have been presented as very uniform, with specific conventions: earthly relationships of love, marriage, and friendship wouldn’t exist or be remembered, and everyone would wear white and play harps and sing “Worthy Is the Lamb” all the time forever. Consequently, a few children in The Gates Ajar express the hope that they’ll be allowed to go to hell on Saturdays to play.
What Phelps offers in her novel as an alternative vision, where the love of God is channeled into an afterlife environment where our human love for each other is honored and perfected. So far, so sentimental nineteenth century; what I didn’t expect was for Phelps to create such sympathetic characters and an actual plot of some substance. The protagonist, Mary, is immensely appealing: she wants to be a good person but can’t help being consumed by rage and despair at the death of her brother Royal—her only family member—and the failure of her church’s elders to provide adequate comfort. Her aunt, Winifred, who brings the kinder vision of heaven, is actually only about thirty-five, and is fascinating: a mother and bereaved wife whose theological argumentation is lively, spirited, but never mean or pedantic. Winifred’s daughter Faith is hilarious, a three-year-old who talks to her dead father and is quite sure heaven will be full of gingersnaps and pink building blocks.
Unfortunately, Phelps never even contemplates the existence and experience of grief for non-white women. The novel is set in Massachusetts and Black women—newly emancipated but historically well acquainted with grief—absolutely don’t exist in this world. The war is barely mentioned apart from providing the reason for Royal’s death, and slavery isn’t mentioned at all. Not surprising, but disappointing; there could have been more. And I’d definitely read a longer novel about Winifred creating an alternative-theology-driven social order in a small-town environment. Overall, though, lots crammed into this 134-page novella, and much, much more interesting than its current status as a historical curio gives it credit for.
What Phelps offers in her novel as an alternative vision, where the love of God is channeled into an afterlife environment where our human love for each other is honored and perfected. So far, so sentimental nineteenth century; what I didn’t expect was for Phelps to create such sympathetic characters and an actual plot of some substance. The protagonist, Mary, is immensely appealing: she wants to be a good person but can’t help being consumed by rage and despair at the death of her brother Royal—her only family member—and the failure of her church’s elders to provide adequate comfort. Her aunt, Winifred, who brings the kinder vision of heaven, is actually only about thirty-five, and is fascinating: a mother and bereaved wife whose theological argumentation is lively, spirited, but never mean or pedantic. Winifred’s daughter Faith is hilarious, a three-year-old who talks to her dead father and is quite sure heaven will be full of gingersnaps and pink building blocks.
Unfortunately, Phelps never even contemplates the existence and experience of grief for non-white women. The novel is set in Massachusetts and Black women—newly emancipated but historically well acquainted with grief—absolutely don’t exist in this world. The war is barely mentioned apart from providing the reason for Royal’s death, and slavery isn’t mentioned at all. Not surprising, but disappointing; there could have been more. And I’d definitely read a longer novel about Winifred creating an alternative-theology-driven social order in a small-town environment. Overall, though, lots crammed into this 134-page novella, and much, much more interesting than its current status as a historical curio gives it credit for.
June 15, 2019
A classic allegory of a young woman's journey toward Spiritual Maturity (a Pilgrim's Progress type journey). Set in the North East United States during the Civil War, the main character: "Mary Cabot" faces the loss of her beloved best friend, mentor and brother "Royal". Elizabeth Stuart Phelp's portrayals of characters is masterful and engaging. I love Elizabeth Stuart Phelps use of Holy Scripture throughout the book in her explanations of heaven and life hereafter!
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps began writing "The Gates Ajar" in her teens inspired by her personal journey in life (encouraged and mentored by both her mother and Father (both gifted authors) and graduates of Andover seminary in the North East.) (Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward is my husband's great grandmother, and the Hart family continues to cherish the memories of The Gates Ajar and the many other popular titles written by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps.) Elizabeth Stuart Phelps was a prolific author: near fifty titles continue to be published. She was the number two best seller (in USA and Europe) after Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and she won the respect as an author by both Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain (Tom Sawyer).
(Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe...
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward (1844–1911) was an early feminist American author and ... of Moses Stuart, the eminent president of Andover Theological Seminary. .... (1884) Houghton & Griffin,)
Mark Twain's parody of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps "The Gates Ajar". Rather eclectic and imaginative. (Mark Twain enjoyed Elizabeth Stuart Phelps style and prolific list of books she authored. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and her parents (strong outspoken Abolitionists) and ordained ministers (Andover Seminary) were equally profound in their quality and quantity of writing and publishing titles.
"The Gates Ajar" is a wonderful love story written during the Civil War in a fictional reflection of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps own love for her brother and her loss, emotional and spiritual journey and gains from losing him in the war. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps "The Gates Ajar" was the number two best seller after Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" for many years. Elizabeth's "The Gates Ajar" was published in twenty three languages and distributed world wide. Elizabeth continued writing to collect more than twenty five titles (still distributed on line today). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe.... Her gift for writing was apparent early in her life when she began authoring "The Gates Ajar" at age seventeen, completing and publishing by age nineteen years old. "The Gates Ajar" is still my favorite of Elizabeth's works.
The profound success of "The Gates Ajar" is discovered in Elizabeth Stuart Phelps' gift of prose (yet poetic) descriptions of her life journey, blossoming into a mature, fully spiritual woman of God, maturity harvested through her sufferings (her support of Abolition) and the consequential loss of her beloved brother. Elizabeth's feelings were popularly shared by millions of people in the Northeast USA and Europe (and the quantity of her published editions reflected the success of her shared expressions). Her descriptions of her spiritual insights, awakening and maturing are along the lines of the life lessons contained within "Pilgrim's Progress" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pil...) woven around her life journey through the Civil War.
Mark Twain was fond of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and her parents and mentored her. Keep his fondness for her writing in mind when you read his parody. If you are a Mark Twain fan, read first "The Gates Ajar" before reading "Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven". Mark Twains poking fun will make you squirm a little (and for me I felt annoyed with him, because I LOVE Elizabeth Stuart Phelps), but laugh.
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps began writing "The Gates Ajar" in her teens inspired by her personal journey in life (encouraged and mentored by both her mother and Father (both gifted authors) and graduates of Andover seminary in the North East.) (Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward is my husband's great grandmother, and the Hart family continues to cherish the memories of The Gates Ajar and the many other popular titles written by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps.) Elizabeth Stuart Phelps was a prolific author: near fifty titles continue to be published. She was the number two best seller (in USA and Europe) after Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and she won the respect as an author by both Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain (Tom Sawyer).
(Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe...
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward (1844–1911) was an early feminist American author and ... of Moses Stuart, the eminent president of Andover Theological Seminary. .... (1884) Houghton & Griffin,)
Mark Twain's parody of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps "The Gates Ajar". Rather eclectic and imaginative. (Mark Twain enjoyed Elizabeth Stuart Phelps style and prolific list of books she authored. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and her parents (strong outspoken Abolitionists) and ordained ministers (Andover Seminary) were equally profound in their quality and quantity of writing and publishing titles.
"The Gates Ajar" is a wonderful love story written during the Civil War in a fictional reflection of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps own love for her brother and her loss, emotional and spiritual journey and gains from losing him in the war. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps "The Gates Ajar" was the number two best seller after Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" for many years. Elizabeth's "The Gates Ajar" was published in twenty three languages and distributed world wide. Elizabeth continued writing to collect more than twenty five titles (still distributed on line today). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe.... Her gift for writing was apparent early in her life when she began authoring "The Gates Ajar" at age seventeen, completing and publishing by age nineteen years old. "The Gates Ajar" is still my favorite of Elizabeth's works.
The profound success of "The Gates Ajar" is discovered in Elizabeth Stuart Phelps' gift of prose (yet poetic) descriptions of her life journey, blossoming into a mature, fully spiritual woman of God, maturity harvested through her sufferings (her support of Abolition) and the consequential loss of her beloved brother. Elizabeth's feelings were popularly shared by millions of people in the Northeast USA and Europe (and the quantity of her published editions reflected the success of her shared expressions). Her descriptions of her spiritual insights, awakening and maturing are along the lines of the life lessons contained within "Pilgrim's Progress" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pil...) woven around her life journey through the Civil War.
Mark Twain was fond of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and her parents and mentored her. Keep his fondness for her writing in mind when you read his parody. If you are a Mark Twain fan, read first "The Gates Ajar" before reading "Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven". Mark Twains poking fun will make you squirm a little (and for me I felt annoyed with him, because I LOVE Elizabeth Stuart Phelps), but laugh.
September 13, 2021
Not a great start personally for my American Fiction class, but I have a feeling this book tells more about the time in America and the context surrounding it, rather than being a phenomenal novel.
September 2, 2020
The Gates Ajar is an 1868 novel that was immensely popular following its publication soon after the American Civil War where so many men had been killed. In diary format, it tells the story of Mary Cabot, who is mourning the death of her brother Royal who was shot dead in the war. Their parents are deceased, and Mary is unable to find sympathy and relief from anyone. She is on the verge of losing her religious faith and giving in to despair when her widowed aunt Winifred Forceythe fortuitously arrives from Kansas with her daughter Faith. Through their conversations, recorded in Mary's journal Winifred offers an inspiring image of heaven that gradually restores her niece's faith.
I have wanted to read this novel for a long time since I first heard of it and have finally found the time. The image of the afterlife portrayed in the novel is based upon selected readings of Christian sources, and appears very comforting to those in the novel. However, that is not the important part of the work for me. It is a wonderful story of two women bonding together to help each other through difficult times.
I have wanted to read this novel for a long time since I first heard of it and have finally found the time. The image of the afterlife portrayed in the novel is based upon selected readings of Christian sources, and appears very comforting to those in the novel. However, that is not the important part of the work for me. It is a wonderful story of two women bonding together to help each other through difficult times.
March 13, 2022
Welp. I read it. It's one of those, "this is an important book, not a fun book" kind of reads.
It fundamentally influenced the notion of the afterlife - not just domestically, but internationally - and was, I believe, the second most read book of the 19th century, right behind UTC.
I understand where and how it fits into the narrative of civil war bereavement, but it was sentimental lit. It felt like spiritual didacticism.
Edit: realized i forgot to saw WHY it changed the notion of the American afterlife. Prior to this book by Phelps, the idea that heaven would physically mirror the corporeal world was only passing notion in theological fields (something which Phelps makes brief reference to). After the American civil war, because losses on both sides were so devastating, Phelps used this book to popularize the notion that everyone who lost a loved one in this war, would physically see them again in the afterlife, providing, to the majority of Americans, some type of solace for all the pain and suffering that they endured.
It fundamentally influenced the notion of the afterlife - not just domestically, but internationally - and was, I believe, the second most read book of the 19th century, right behind UTC.
I understand where and how it fits into the narrative of civil war bereavement, but it was sentimental lit. It felt like spiritual didacticism.
Edit: realized i forgot to saw WHY it changed the notion of the American afterlife. Prior to this book by Phelps, the idea that heaven would physically mirror the corporeal world was only passing notion in theological fields (something which Phelps makes brief reference to). After the American civil war, because losses on both sides were so devastating, Phelps used this book to popularize the notion that everyone who lost a loved one in this war, would physically see them again in the afterlife, providing, to the majority of Americans, some type of solace for all the pain and suffering that they endured.
August 19, 2025
Published in 1868, The Gates Ajar was written to provide comfort to the many women - widows, mothers, sisters- suffering and grieving from lives lost due to the Civil War. Written in epistolary form of journal entries, the main character is devastated and heart broken by the death of her brother during the war. She is not comforted by her deacon's rather cold attempts to console her and his vague assurances of an afterlife. Her visiting Aunt shares with her the unimagined, idea that loved ones are reunited in heaven.
The legacy of this novel is not just that it was one of the best selling novels of the 19th century, but that it presented ideas different from traditional Calvinist teachings. I find it so interesting that a novel had impact in the way people of many different faiths came to view the afterlife.
I had never even heard of this book- its a little embarrassing that I found it only because I was looking for a book with a gate or fence in the title or on the cover. ( thanks quarterly book bingo!)
The legacy of this novel is not just that it was one of the best selling novels of the 19th century, but that it presented ideas different from traditional Calvinist teachings. I find it so interesting that a novel had impact in the way people of many different faiths came to view the afterlife.
I had never even heard of this book- its a little embarrassing that I found it only because I was looking for a book with a gate or fence in the title or on the cover. ( thanks quarterly book bingo!)
November 22, 2017
I just finished reading this for one of my university modules. I didn’t think I was going to like it as much as I did, it has been a pleasant surprise (though not so much so because my lecturer is just THAT good at choosing books).
I am not a spiritual person, though I have read a lot about Buddhism and I feel somewhat of a connection with it. I do not believe in God and in many ways this book was so far from my understanding of life. However, I enjoyed the conversations between Mary and her aunt. Spirituality is such a personal thing and I appreciated the characters’ struggles with their knowledge of God and Heaven.
I do think the book is quite reductive, though. Most of the times, the reader needs to have prior knowledge of what it’s talked about and it only really allows one interpretation of spirituality to really come through — Winifred’s.
I am not a spiritual person, though I have read a lot about Buddhism and I feel somewhat of a connection with it. I do not believe in God and in many ways this book was so far from my understanding of life. However, I enjoyed the conversations between Mary and her aunt. Spirituality is such a personal thing and I appreciated the characters’ struggles with their knowledge of God and Heaven.
I do think the book is quite reductive, though. Most of the times, the reader needs to have prior knowledge of what it’s talked about and it only really allows one interpretation of spirituality to really come through — Winifred’s.
November 1, 2019
I had never heard of this nor its author and bought it in the famous bookshop in Porto despite the fact that I was not entirely confident I would actually read it or be able to comprehend it. Well, I did and I was. I cracked it open on holidays and was instantly hooked by the warmth of the narrator's voice. Now, it is both interesting and not terribly depending - possibly - on how you feel about reading theological discussions. Ah, but I think Phelps writing saves the day. I read it in a couple of sittings and I suppose it helps that I believe in spirits and the Afterlife. Furthermore, I might as well confess that I was pleasantly surprised to find myself reading the last couple of pages through a veil of my own tears.
April 24, 2021
Devout Christians might like this better than I did. The editors say that 'The Gates Ajar' invented or popularized a concept of heaven that's become commonplace by now, but one that was somewhat scandalous in Congregationalist circles in the 19th C, where people were discouraged from thinking too hard about what heaven was like. The editors unfortunately don't provide notes for any of the references to books and writers etc. within the novel itself.
August 23, 2021
Tremendously interesting in theology (also made me grit my teeth at times). And to think about how this one book shaped American culture (makes me grit my teeth harder). Basically the popular birth of the idea that we will literally be reunited with our loved ones in heaven. But the story and how it was told was surprisingly moving and had a good flow - how it became so popular, I guess.
October 25, 2023
I had to read this book for my 19th-century American lit class, so this is not a typical read for me lol. I honestly don't have much to say about this book, as it was quite hard to get through at times. I honestly think I only rated it 3 stars because I could relate to the fact that the main character is going through the process of grief & so am I.
November 12, 2021
Sort of interesting sort of boring. I read it for a boring class.
May 1, 2022
Impressive, profound approach to loss of a loved one and the nature of an afterlife.
Having lost a parent at a young age, this short book would have been very helpful in dealing with the grief.
Having lost a parent at a young age, this short book would have been very helpful in dealing with the grief.
January 17, 2019
There are reasons that its popularity did not continue. And some are valid.
But Phelps gives a startlingly legitimate portrait of grief and questioning. I remembered something I had read regarding the post-Civil War life: That there were literally towns full of women because towns full of men had been killed (because of the way that they composed their companies). These seemed to be her audience.
I liked the book, in perspective. I liked it, especially with the ties to Stowe and mourning. I also thought the conclusions (based on her reading of The Bible and life) that Winifred reaches regarding heaven were interesting*.
*see The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, particularly the book of Alma.
But Phelps gives a startlingly legitimate portrait of grief and questioning. I remembered something I had read regarding the post-Civil War life: That there were literally towns full of women because towns full of men had been killed (because of the way that they composed their companies). These seemed to be her audience.
I liked the book, in perspective. I liked it, especially with the ties to Stowe and mourning. I also thought the conclusions (based on her reading of The Bible and life) that Winifred reaches regarding heaven were interesting*.
*see The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, particularly the book of Alma.
November 14, 2021
I can see how this would have been very influential during its time period, especially considering the intended audience. Looking at the book from a student’s perspective, the book was successful in goal. The intimate style of writing, the constant questioning and reaffirming of faith through uncensored discourse, and the emphasis on family and emotion were all able to help entice the target audience and convey the author’s message very well. This is very much a book to read for the purpose of studying literature in my opinion. I say this because I am an atheist who simply cannot comprehend how these characters never really healed after losing their loved ones, but remained in a state of waiting. Waiting to be with those they had lost in heaven. They do not accept they are gone, because they do not believe they are. I get that the utopian family view of heaven was meant not only to bring comfort, but to bring light to what this world lacks, but everyone ended up being suicidal at some point because of that. I just can’t wrap my head around it. But apparently human comprehension cannot fathom the complexity and vastness of “His” plan. It’s just sad that little girls and lost souls really wanted to die. Christianity just seems so broken, from whatever perspective I look at it from. Anyway, quality writing, Mary was out of pocket alllllll the time, easy read.
August 1, 2014
This is another book that I found out about when researching the public's reaction to death in the Civil War, and read so much about it that I ordered a print-on-demand copy from Amazon. I don't know if it's quite right to say that I really enjoyed The Gates Ajar, but I was fascinated by it. The contrast between the arguments for a materialist view of heaven, complete with religious and philosophical backup and counterpoints for almost everything, and the sharp characterization of Mary, a grieving heroine who seemed very prototypical-modern-YA-novel to me, is sharp and a little jarring. I've never before read a book that bounces from describing the hidden charms of an awkward boy in town to a description of Swedenborgianism, but in this case, it kind of works. That being said, this novel is more interested than philosophy in plot, so if it sounds interesting, be warned of that. Still, this book puts forth its ideas with such likable characters and with such breezy writing that reading it is never a chore. It's just an odd experience.
April 21, 2014
I read this for research for my 19th century novel-in-progress. Described as "Spiritualist" it wasn't what I was expecting, rather lengthy descriptions of what heaven may be like, enveloped in a journal of a young girl whose brother died in the Civil War.
Phelps was a great advocate for social reform, anti-vivisection, temperance, and the emancipation of women. She was also involved in clothing reform for women, urging them to burn their corsets in 1874.
Phelps was a great advocate for social reform, anti-vivisection, temperance, and the emancipation of women. She was also involved in clothing reform for women, urging them to burn their corsets in 1874.
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August 23, 2008First published in 1868. Intended to provide comfort to all the women who had lost husbands, sons, fathers, brothers in the Civil War. Greatly influenced the view Americans had/have of heaven.
January 2, 2015
Meh. could have ended 138 pages sooner.
May 31, 2024
Unexpectedly lovely. Forerunner to and cousin of The Great Divorce, and a masterclass in the ministry of presence in the midst of grief.
November 1, 2024
I loved how this book examined the intricacies of grief at the beginning and end, but I had to skim much of the middle.
June 19, 2025
Love a 24 year old spinister who calls men stupid
November 3, 2014
Lots of good biblical truth here. Everyone needs a Winifred in their life.
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