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Mary Baker Eddy
In 1866, a frail, impoverished invalid, middle-aged, widowed and divorced, rose from her bed after a life-threatening fall, asked for her Bible, and took the first steps toward the founding of the Christian Science Church. Four decades later, she was revered as their leader by thousands of churches in the U.S. and Europe, had founded a national newspaper, and had become probably the most powerful woman in America.Who was this astonishing woman, the mother of the Mother Church? How did she prepare for her illustrious career during her years of obscurity, and what was her inspiration for the healing practices and doctrine of Christian Science? Gillian Gill, a non-Christian Science Scientist scholar, who managed to win unparalleled access to the Church archives, offers here an entirely new look at Mary Baker Eddy.For the first time readers will see the extraordinary leadership skills exercised by Mrs. Eddy despite the repressive forces facing women in her time. For the first time we learn the full story of the bizarre attack on Mrs. Eddy by Joseph Pulitzer and his New York World —alleging that she was at least senile and possibly not even alive. In this enthralling biography, we rediscover Mary Baker Eddy as a radical Christian thinker, pioneer in the recognition of mind/body connections, survivor of scandal, and target of both admiration and scorn from such eminent contemporaries as Mark Twain. Gillian Gill's sense of drama, her critical acumen, and her delicious wit bring to life a brilliant religious leader whose message has new meaning in our time.
776 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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161 people want to read
About the author
Gillian Gill
15 books53 followersGillian Gill, who holds a PhD in modern French literature from Cambridge University, has taught at Northeastern, Wellesley, Yale, and Harvard. She is the author of Nightingales: The Extraordinary Upbringing and Curious Life of Miss Florence Nightingale, Agatha Christie: The Woman and Her Mysteries, and Mary Baker Eddy. She lives in suburban Boston.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 6, 2017
IT. IS. DONE. (Three months later.)
April 14, 2023
This is a very long book - 520 pages of text plus 180 pages of footnotes plus an unusable index (names with long lists of page numbers). It gives all the information about Mary Baker Eddy that would satisfy any reader, but it is written in an academic style - rather dry. Facts and presumptions aren't enough.
Gill spent about 40% or more of the book refuting statements made by other biographers, leaving me to feel that I should have read all of those books first so I would understand her references. Mentioning other biographies so often is unnecessary and jumbles up the author's message. Why not just state your own research?
Gill used different names for Mary Baker Eddy depending on which husband she was married to. This was ultra-confusing because there are many "Marys" in the book as well as many Glovers and Pattersons. and referring to Mary Glover or Mary Patterson or Mary Eddy caused a great deal of concentrated effort to keep track of exactly which person Gill was meaning. Why not just use MBE? And, oddly, the author chose to always call her Mrs. (Mrs. Glover, Mrs. Patterson, Mrs. Eddy). So how about Mrs. MBE?
While this was an enormous project and clearly Gill did a lot of research, the book had a lot of facts and theories, but it lacked depth.
MBE founded a religious movement, but there is no discussion of comparative religion in the book. Surely MBE's upbringing as a Calvinist with a father who was a strict Calvinist and highly controlling would have had a great influence on MBE psychologically. For MBE to break from that stricture and form a new religion was enormous psychologically, but Gill doesn't pursue this path. No explanation of Calvinism or how many people were of that denomination in Mary's life. Or what the religious expectations of her community were. No discussion of how New England - land of the Puritans and Calvinists - was home to mesmerists, fortune tellers and spiritualists holding seances - and how they related to the general population or Calvinists especially. How was MBE able to overcome her upbringing psychologically, break out as it were, and attend seances?
As for womanhood and MBE's health, Gill makes reference to "hysteria," but doesn't explain that term and how doctors treated it (with laudanum, a concoction of opium and alcohol). Gill also makes a weak conclusion about MBE being anorexic instead of hysteric because she ate very little during a particular period of childhood - however, at that time MBE was under a doctor's prescribed diet. Lacking was an exploration how the provincial strictures on MBE had an effect on her livelihood and day to day living as a child, a widow, and later on, an abandoned wife. Remind us that there was no electricity - by stating how lonely it would have been after dark, stuck in one room in a boarding house after her second husband left. And, no discussion of the effects on Mr. Patterson of MBE being bedridden during their marriage.
The author discusses Phineas Quimby, a man that healed MBE to the extent that she was no longer bedridden (after several years). MBE sought out Quimby's healing until his death. Some attribute, at very least, the genesis of Christian Science to Quimby because MBE spent afternoons alone with him presumably asking questions about his healing methods and reading his manuscripts. In the book, Gill states that Quimby used "error" as a synonym for illness (before MBE) and also the term "animal magnetism" (before MBE). Her critics charge that MBE plagiarized Quimby's writings. Gill says no one can read Quimby's writings because they are so badly written. I read them and found them only a little more convoluted than MBE's writings. Gill refutes the plagiarism and I agree, but Gill does not delve into the concepts of healing which is really important to MBE's writings and the religion that she created.
A discussion of the psychology of poverty was needed. Not just that MBE was destitute for years, but what happens to a person under that kind of stress. Furthermore, what is the psychology of rejection? MBE was rejected by most of her siblings, her father, and others at some time or other. What does that do to a personality?
Gill also inserted herself into the biography - "I think this" and "I believe that" - again, reminiscent of an educational thesis, but I've never seen that in a trade biography. Again, why not just leave out "I think" and make the statement?
Astonishing in the book was Gill's claim that she read a a 19th century, hand-written document and believed she could identify the writer of that document (Emma Ware) because Gill had seen Ware's signature before. From a signature? No.
As for feminism - at one point in the narrative a woman wants her husband to move away from working with the attractive and unmarried MBE and he does. Gill refers to this man as "henpecked." Oops.
And Gill more than once uses that most patriarchal of terms, "illegitimate."
Gill spent about 40% or more of the book refuting statements made by other biographers, leaving me to feel that I should have read all of those books first so I would understand her references. Mentioning other biographies so often is unnecessary and jumbles up the author's message. Why not just state your own research?
Gill used different names for Mary Baker Eddy depending on which husband she was married to. This was ultra-confusing because there are many "Marys" in the book as well as many Glovers and Pattersons. and referring to Mary Glover or Mary Patterson or Mary Eddy caused a great deal of concentrated effort to keep track of exactly which person Gill was meaning. Why not just use MBE? And, oddly, the author chose to always call her Mrs. (Mrs. Glover, Mrs. Patterson, Mrs. Eddy). So how about Mrs. MBE?
While this was an enormous project and clearly Gill did a lot of research, the book had a lot of facts and theories, but it lacked depth.
MBE founded a religious movement, but there is no discussion of comparative religion in the book. Surely MBE's upbringing as a Calvinist with a father who was a strict Calvinist and highly controlling would have had a great influence on MBE psychologically. For MBE to break from that stricture and form a new religion was enormous psychologically, but Gill doesn't pursue this path. No explanation of Calvinism or how many people were of that denomination in Mary's life. Or what the religious expectations of her community were. No discussion of how New England - land of the Puritans and Calvinists - was home to mesmerists, fortune tellers and spiritualists holding seances - and how they related to the general population or Calvinists especially. How was MBE able to overcome her upbringing psychologically, break out as it were, and attend seances?
As for womanhood and MBE's health, Gill makes reference to "hysteria," but doesn't explain that term and how doctors treated it (with laudanum, a concoction of opium and alcohol). Gill also makes a weak conclusion about MBE being anorexic instead of hysteric because she ate very little during a particular period of childhood - however, at that time MBE was under a doctor's prescribed diet. Lacking was an exploration how the provincial strictures on MBE had an effect on her livelihood and day to day living as a child, a widow, and later on, an abandoned wife. Remind us that there was no electricity - by stating how lonely it would have been after dark, stuck in one room in a boarding house after her second husband left. And, no discussion of the effects on Mr. Patterson of MBE being bedridden during their marriage.
The author discusses Phineas Quimby, a man that healed MBE to the extent that she was no longer bedridden (after several years). MBE sought out Quimby's healing until his death. Some attribute, at very least, the genesis of Christian Science to Quimby because MBE spent afternoons alone with him presumably asking questions about his healing methods and reading his manuscripts. In the book, Gill states that Quimby used "error" as a synonym for illness (before MBE) and also the term "animal magnetism" (before MBE). Her critics charge that MBE plagiarized Quimby's writings. Gill says no one can read Quimby's writings because they are so badly written. I read them and found them only a little more convoluted than MBE's writings. Gill refutes the plagiarism and I agree, but Gill does not delve into the concepts of healing which is really important to MBE's writings and the religion that she created.
A discussion of the psychology of poverty was needed. Not just that MBE was destitute for years, but what happens to a person under that kind of stress. Furthermore, what is the psychology of rejection? MBE was rejected by most of her siblings, her father, and others at some time or other. What does that do to a personality?
Gill also inserted herself into the biography - "I think this" and "I believe that" - again, reminiscent of an educational thesis, but I've never seen that in a trade biography. Again, why not just leave out "I think" and make the statement?
Astonishing in the book was Gill's claim that she read a a 19th century, hand-written document and believed she could identify the writer of that document (Emma Ware) because Gill had seen Ware's signature before. From a signature? No.
As for feminism - at one point in the narrative a woman wants her husband to move away from working with the attractive and unmarried MBE and he does. Gill refers to this man as "henpecked." Oops.
And Gill more than once uses that most patriarchal of terms, "illegitimate."
August 11, 2012
Not so much a biography as a history of Mary Baker Eddy and the times in which she lived, which influenced many of her activities and decisions. It is certainly a wonderfully researched, well documented, and objective ('warts and all') examination, if not a little dry in some spots. In the end, though, she emerges most human; complex and inconsistent, but with an insatiable desire to devote herself to studying the Science she discovered.
May 25, 2016
Such clear writing, taking a controversial subject and making it easy to understand - especially her way of recognizing all the different sources and previous bios of MBE. Read her book of Florence Nightingale, and really appreciated the feminist perspective she brought to that subject, and her perspective for MBE was especially appealing to me. Too often, I think, we guys do not understand what women, and especially 19th women went through.
Her description of the steps she took to get (almost full) access to the archives of the Mother Church, really had the feel of investigative journalism. I knew of her, from my youth, but being told she may have been the most powerful women in the early 20th Century really amazed me, but, with 800,000 followers and a (relative) fortune, I can see it.
Gillian Gill captured, I believe, her drive, cantankerousness, philosophy, but, more important, she told one hell of a great story. One needs no background in Christian Science to really enjoy this book.
Her description of the steps she took to get (almost full) access to the archives of the Mother Church, really had the feel of investigative journalism. I knew of her, from my youth, but being told she may have been the most powerful women in the early 20th Century really amazed me, but, with 800,000 followers and a (relative) fortune, I can see it.
Gillian Gill captured, I believe, her drive, cantankerousness, philosophy, but, more important, she told one hell of a great story. One needs no background in Christian Science to really enjoy this book.
January 11, 2018
As thorough a biography as is possible. The Church of Christ, Scientist, still keeps a close watch on Eddy's papers. Gill saw some but not all, which makes her achievement here all the more remarkable. Eddy has long been a target of character assassination. Her rationalist bent in theology often appears ridiculous to the non-believer. How much more puzzling to the outsider then is the fact this woman single-handedly created one of the larger Christian denominations in the U.S. by herself during a time when women could not even vote? And that she didn't even start doing so until her late forties and two marriages? Gill does battle with Eddy's scoffers and their existing canon of anti-hagiography by defending Eddy as a person and, more importantly, as a woman without succumbing into religious adoration or skirting (so to speak) tough issues. A recommended read.
November 29, 2016
I purchased this book to help me in a report I was writing. Initially I thought I would skim the book and pull out a few interesting tidbits to embellish my report. (I was late in getting the project done and didn't have a lot of time.) The book was way too interesting and the information was so impartially presented that I read practically every word. I think author Gillian Gill is one of the most painstaking and thorough researchers, and she not only presents both sides to an issue but also shares her own conclusions as possible explanations. I thought I knew a lot about Mary Baker Eddy, having been raised in a Christian Science home. Ms. Gill's book took a legend and gave her a real human personality, warts and all.
June 14, 2023
Captivating read, brilliantly researched…but, I confess to stopping 2/3rds through. Bench pressing this book got old.
A dear friend who is Christian Scientist recommended and I was stunned at the hardships on every conceivable level MBE experienced. Gillian’s handling of her story was sensitive, humorous, objective and indelibly framed in the context of MBEs time. She definitely had a dark side but the fact that she created an actual religion( hello! ) during a time when women were essentially silenced, berated or worse was phenomenal.
A dear friend who is Christian Scientist recommended and I was stunned at the hardships on every conceivable level MBE experienced. Gillian’s handling of her story was sensitive, humorous, objective and indelibly framed in the context of MBEs time. She definitely had a dark side but the fact that she created an actual religion( hello! ) during a time when women were essentially silenced, berated or worse was phenomenal.
September 27, 2007
The only reason I didn't give this five stars is because it's sooooo long and sometimes a little academic. But it's fabulous! All I ever wanted to know - and didn't know I wanted to know - about my church.
August 7, 2014
Hello! This author does an in depth look into many sides of Mary Baker Eddy and presents a good read for those who are aware of this wonderful woman and those who are not familiar with her hard life. ATK
October 5, 2020
Ms Gill unfortunately writes more as an apologist for Eddy than a biographer.
March 27, 2025
A wonderful window on New Hampshire life and leadership at a time when my great grandfather and grandfather were, no doubt, among MBE's extended family acquaintances or business contemporaries; perhaps partners or customers... walking the halls of the State House together. I remember clearly a contemporary of my grandmother--a woman named Nell Stoddard--who lived (many years in New London) beyond age 100 if memory serves... a Christian Scientist who would have chosen her faith during the life of MBE. This is a wonderful treatment that centers on the place and the strengths of women as well as the primitive state of medical science and healthcare.
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June 20, 2013Mary Baker Eddy is a tricky person to get a handle on, and Gill presents here the most scholarly, objective overview in a very long and fraught canon of Eddy biography. This definitely supersedes Robert Peel's three volume biography, which was good for its time but is outdated and tends toward hagiography.
Gill was hampered by limited access to sources, though she had more than any non-Church biographer ever has, and by a limited understanding of the Christian Science faith itself, but no one can say she did the job halfway. This is an exhaustive undertaking and not an easy read; it will take you some time. The writing style tends toward the ponderous and the speculative (almost a necessity with a figure as controversial and slippery as Eddy) and Gill inserts far too much of herself into the text.
That is not to say this is a bad book; it's really quite good. Just that any reader should have an idea of its flaws in mind, and that the definitive biography of Eddy has yet to be written.
Gill was hampered by limited access to sources, though she had more than any non-Church biographer ever has, and by a limited understanding of the Christian Science faith itself, but no one can say she did the job halfway. This is an exhaustive undertaking and not an easy read; it will take you some time. The writing style tends toward the ponderous and the speculative (almost a necessity with a figure as controversial and slippery as Eddy) and Gill inserts far too much of herself into the text.
That is not to say this is a bad book; it's really quite good. Just that any reader should have an idea of its flaws in mind, and that the definitive biography of Eddy has yet to be written.
December 1, 2022
An excellent biography. It’s nice to finally have a scholarly, well researched biography by a non-Christian Scientist who was not out to drag Mary Baker Eddy through the mud or stomp on her religion with hobnailed boots.
This is the first biography by a non-CS where Mary Baker Eddy comes off as an actual human being rather than a caricature drawn by a misogynist. It says a lot about the slow progress of women’s rights that it took a century for a woman who stepped into a position of power in the late 1800s to be treated with the same respect that men who step into power have always been treated. Oh well, at least we’re making progress.
I recommend reading the footnotes. It’s slightly annoying to flip back-and-forth between the main text and the Notes Appendix, but there’s tons of interesting tidbits back there.
And I highly recommend reading Gill’s summaries of the major biographies that came before hers. It’s invaluable. You can find it in the back as an appendix titled “The Essential Published Source Books“.
This is the first biography by a non-CS where Mary Baker Eddy comes off as an actual human being rather than a caricature drawn by a misogynist. It says a lot about the slow progress of women’s rights that it took a century for a woman who stepped into a position of power in the late 1800s to be treated with the same respect that men who step into power have always been treated. Oh well, at least we’re making progress.
I recommend reading the footnotes. It’s slightly annoying to flip back-and-forth between the main text and the Notes Appendix, but there’s tons of interesting tidbits back there.
And I highly recommend reading Gill’s summaries of the major biographies that came before hers. It’s invaluable. You can find it in the back as an appendix titled “The Essential Published Source Books“.
June 21, 2015
I found this very readable, absorbing, and thoughtful. In particular, I appreciated Gill's approach (as articulated in the introduction) of trying to produce both sides of the story. I felt that she researched thoroughly and was fair: inquisitive, sympathetic, skeptical... ultimately honest. The start felt richer than the end - at times towards the very end it seemed that she assumed some familiarity with the history of Christian Science (which I don't have). Otherwise, delightful - such a great insight into how women leaders were handled in society and in the media of the time.
June 22, 2011
I need to finish reading it. I've read through the first few chapters, which were hard to get through b/c the subject matter was somewhat dry to me. I'm sure it picks up though. I do enjoy Gillian Gill's perspective as a non-Christian Scientist and how she comes to respect and admire Mary Baker Eddy.
December 7, 2011
Gillian Gill's talent lies in being able to bring an historical figure to life within the context of the times in which they lived. Not only do I learn about the person, but I deepen my understanding of the time in history. Her books deserve close reading and in return, deliver a deeper understanding of the obstacles famous women have overcome.
November 5, 2013
Learned a lot about time and person both. The book really brought home that when Christian Science started there was very poor medical cures
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews