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The Minister's Wooing
From the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a domestic comedy that examines slavery, Protestant theology, and gender differences in early America.First published in 1859, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s third novel is set in eighteenth-century Newport, Rhode Island, a community known for its engagement in both religious piety and the slave trade. Mary Scudder lives in a modest farmhouse with her widowed mother and their boarder, Samuel Hopkins, a famous Calvinist theologian who preaches against slavery. Mary is in love with the passionate James Marvyn, but Mary is devout and James is a skeptic, and Mary’s mother opposes the union. James goes to sea, and when he is reportedly drowned, Mary is persuaded to become engaged to Dr. Hopkins.
With colorful characters, including many based on real figures, and a plot that hinges on romance, The Minister’s Wooing combines comedy with regional history to show the convergence of daily life, slavery, and religion in post-Revolutionary New England.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
With colorful characters, including many based on real figures, and a plot that hinges on romance, The Minister’s Wooing combines comedy with regional history to show the convergence of daily life, slavery, and religion in post-Revolutionary New England.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
349 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1859
40 people are currently reading
906 people want to read
About the author
Harriet Beecher Stowe
1,580 books1,448 followersGreat political influence of
Uncle Tom's Cabin
, novel against slavery of 1852 of Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, American writer, advanced the cause of abolition.
Lyman Beecher fathered Catharine Esther Beecher, Edward Beecher, Henry Ward Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, another child.
Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, an author, attacked the cruelty, and reached millions of persons as a play even in Britain. She made the tangible issues of the 1850s to millions and energized forces in the north. She angered and embittered the south. A commonly quoted statement, apocryphally attributed to Abraham Lincoln, sums up the effect. He met Stowe and then said, "So you're the little woman that started this great war!" or so people say.
AKA:
Χάρριετ Μπήτσερ Στόου (Greek)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet...
Lyman Beecher fathered Catharine Esther Beecher, Edward Beecher, Henry Ward Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, another child.
Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, an author, attacked the cruelty, and reached millions of persons as a play even in Britain. She made the tangible issues of the 1850s to millions and energized forces in the north. She angered and embittered the south. A commonly quoted statement, apocryphally attributed to Abraham Lincoln, sums up the effect. He met Stowe and then said, "So you're the little woman that started this great war!" or so people say.
AKA:
Χάρριετ Μπήτσερ Στόου (Greek)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
June 22, 2008
This one is definately in the top ten for me. I love this book and will continue to reread it throughout my life, when I need to feel connected and valued and not alone as a women and mother. Stowe is magical in her ability to elevate the ordinary woman in this tale. Stowe gives the power to the woman and her brave ability to be personal. She reminds us that "where theorists and philosophers tread with sublime arrurance, women often follow with bleeding footsteps - women are always turning from the abstract to the individual and feeling where the philosopher only thinks." She blurs the lines between the solemn and the trivial, elevating all that is in the daily life of a woman...and does it with amazing wit and beauty! You cannot leave mortality without reading this book.
October 7, 2012
I first read this book about the time I was newly engaged, and is about as close to a romance novel as I could possibly enjoy. It is a very thoughtful narrative on theology (predestination vs need for evangelism), the evils of slavery, 18th century New England culture, and romance. It gives great insight into the expectations put on women in that culture. I loved this book and reread it every few years to remind myself that women like Beecher Stowe are brilliant company and cause me to want to think harder than our culture expects me to.
February 28, 2011
This historical fiction (published in 1859 but set in 18th century Newport, Rhode Island) mixes invented characters with real personages such as the abolitionist Puritan minister Samuel Hopkins and Aaron Burr. Stowe has a biting, sardonic wit, which is timeless, but her beatific protagonist Mary Scudder is too perfect to be enjoyed, somewhat like Jane Austen's Fanny Price, and the many self-consciously metafictional "dear reader" asides are a little wearing. The story of a young woman tortured by the presumed loss at sea of her suitor, James Marvyn, and her fondness for the older minister Hopkins has surprising emotional complexity. Stowe's treatment of an important historical and moral issue - the tension between the Puritan religion, and the slave trade that kept Newport prosperous - makes this an important novel.
March 23, 2023
Stowe has such an insight into people of her time. The characters could be from this time, as well. She can also really turn a phrase.
October 31, 2008
Not near as intense as her more popular Uncle Tom's Cabin. However, I'd say this book is vastly underrated. Stowe's examination into the problems of Calvinism, slavery, and the role of women in American society are insightful. Stowe offers one of the very few sympathetic critiques of Puritanism. Since Uncle Tom's Cabin was so intense I figured this book would be as well. While not as radical, Stowe still manages to "stick it to the man" and be rather unconventional in the process. Beware of the dry 19th century humor and slightly droning language, but all and all it was a very pleasant read. If you enjoy 19th century literature, by all means this is not a book to pass on. Why with all of the love triangles, feminism, and religious debates, who even needs cable?
May 24, 2014
For a book that is sort of historical fiction, it is ok. In some ways, I enjoyed the introduction better than the story. She refers to the book as a comedy, but for 19th century writing, that just means everything turns out ok. I learned more about Calvinism than I knew before. I did enjoy much of the story, but the author tended to go off on tangents (reminding me of the 1500 pg version of Les Miz)and I wanted her to get back to the story. Glad i read it, don't think I would reread.
July 29, 2008
Although I had learned about Harriet Beecher Stowe's most famous book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, in high school, the first book I read was The Pearl of Orr's Island (1862): a delightful novel set in a fishing village in Maine. It's also vastly different from her most famous novel. Last February when I had $100 to spend at Powell's, I made a bee-line to for Stowe's novels and found a lovely 1883 edition of The Minister's Wooing (1859).
The Minister's Wooing is a mixture of the political evangelizing of Uncle Tom's Cabin and the sentimental romance of The Pearl of Orr's Island. The Wikipedia article compares Stowe's novel to The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850) but the similarities are superficial at best. Hawthorne's historical fiction set in the 1600s exposes the inhumane consequences of theocracy. While Mary, the heroine of The Minister's Wooing is raised as a devout Christian, she never has the opportunity to sin. Mary Scudder is about as Mary Sue a character as one can get in a book.
Since Mary Scudder is really secondary to the plot even though her adult life is being plotted by everyone else in the novel, Stowe pads out the novel with a number of treatises ranging from thoughts on Calvinism, slavery, abolitionism, faith, family, marriage, and gender equality. These lengthy asides are fairly common in novels of the time; think of the many chapters on whaling in Moby Dick (1851).
The Minister's Wooing was first serialized in Atlantic Monthly from December 1858 to December 1859. The Cornell library has the magazine version available online.
The Minister's Wooing is a mixture of the political evangelizing of Uncle Tom's Cabin and the sentimental romance of The Pearl of Orr's Island. The Wikipedia article compares Stowe's novel to The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850) but the similarities are superficial at best. Hawthorne's historical fiction set in the 1600s exposes the inhumane consequences of theocracy. While Mary, the heroine of The Minister's Wooing is raised as a devout Christian, she never has the opportunity to sin. Mary Scudder is about as Mary Sue a character as one can get in a book.
Since Mary Scudder is really secondary to the plot even though her adult life is being plotted by everyone else in the novel, Stowe pads out the novel with a number of treatises ranging from thoughts on Calvinism, slavery, abolitionism, faith, family, marriage, and gender equality. These lengthy asides are fairly common in novels of the time; think of the many chapters on whaling in Moby Dick (1851).
The Minister's Wooing was first serialized in Atlantic Monthly from December 1858 to December 1859. The Cornell library has the magazine version available online.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
February 15, 2016361p Harriet Beecher Stowe is best known for writing Uncle Tom 19s Cabin, an anti-slavery novel written in 1852. Many believe that Uncle Tom 19s Cabin was a big factor in the lead up to the Civil War. Regardless of whether or not Stowe 19s classic was one of the causes of the Civil War, its importance in U.S. history can 19t be overstated, and even Abraham Lincoln himself jokingly referred to Stowe as the little lady who caused all the trouble brought about by the war.
From the intro:
1CTHE author has endeavoured in this story to paint a style of life and manners which existed in New England in the earlier days of her national existence.
Some of the principal characters are historic: the leading events of the story are founded on actual facts, although the author has taken the liberty to arrange and vary them for the purposes of the story.
The author has executed the work with a reverential tenderness for those great and religious minds who laid in New England the foundations of many generations, and for those institutions and habits of life from which, as from a fruitful germ, sprang all the present prosperity of America.
Such as it is, it is commended to the kindly thoughts of that British fireside from which the fathers and mothers of America first went out to give to English ideas and institutions a new growth in a new world. 1D
From the intro:
1CTHE author has endeavoured in this story to paint a style of life and manners which existed in New England in the earlier days of her national existence.
Some of the principal characters are historic: the leading events of the story are founded on actual facts, although the author has taken the liberty to arrange and vary them for the purposes of the story.
The author has executed the work with a reverential tenderness for those great and religious minds who laid in New England the foundations of many generations, and for those institutions and habits of life from which, as from a fruitful germ, sprang all the present prosperity of America.
Such as it is, it is commended to the kindly thoughts of that British fireside from which the fathers and mothers of America first went out to give to English ideas and institutions a new growth in a new world. 1D
August 4, 2013
Like Stowe's more famous and influential "Uncle Tom's Cabin," this novel touches on the immorality of slavery. Here Stowe approaches slavery through a New England perspective, setting her tale in Newport, Rhode Island (a prime slave trading port)in the years after the American Revolution, with implications for the changing role of women within American society. Indeed, the heart of the story revolves around a marriage plot and the the question of what constitutes the proper marriage of Christian souls. Themes of individual freedom, community and moral duty, women's role, death, salvation, and the Christian marriage are woven throughout. I enjoyed reading a new work by Stowe, one which I had been wholly unfamiliar with, and I look forward to reading other titles in the future.
However, I would not recommend the Kindle edition. The version I read was full of annoying OCR errors that made for difficult reading.
However, I would not recommend the Kindle edition. The version I read was full of annoying OCR errors that made for difficult reading.
October 20, 2012
Good. I would have liked it more if I didn't have to rush through it over the course of a week, but it was good. Not deadly dull like some of my other readings for American Lit. Discuss-able themes on religion and conversion and abolitionism and New England life. Fun, if very stock, characters.
However, nobody seems to know about this book. It's not even on the Gutenberg Project. Everything is on Gutenberg. Except this.
However, nobody seems to know about this book. It's not even on the Gutenberg Project. Everything is on Gutenberg. Except this.
January 11, 2009
I read this book for a class, and I wrote a paper on it, so given the research I've done, I think it helped me like the book more than I would have otherwise. It's kind of a long book, but it really has some interesting insights into early feminism and religious ideas. I love Stowe, so I can't help but like her books. My overall recommendation: Modern readers might not love the book.
April 6, 2013
I really enjoyed the Minister's Wooing. The plot was predictable, but so sweetly done. Stowe has a sly sense of humor that I like, and she provides wonderful descriptions of the place of religion in daily life in the post Revolutionary Era. She was also remarkably generous about the salvation of Catholics.
March 29, 2014
Written in 1859, the comedy is an interesting examination of slave trade, Calvinism (Jonathan Edwards), Puritan abolitionist Samuel Hopkins, and the role of women in 19th century Newport, RI (where we will vacation soon). The tendency to digress off plot (typical of 19th century writing) interrupts the flow, but the book is a satisfying read.
June 29, 2009
I would give it three and half stars.
Stowe has a way of making life seem musical and writing about it in a way that is not too cheesey. I liked that.
Stowe has a way of making life seem musical and writing about it in a way that is not too cheesey. I liked that.
August 31, 2010
READ THIS! READ THIS! READ THIS! I will add a review in the near future, but until then, read this!
March 3, 2012
It was a very good book by a talented woman writer from the 1800s. The descriptions were spot-on and funny in many places. The issues it discusses are still current today. An enjoyable book.
October 19, 2012
A real rah rah book for the ladies. If your woman ego needs a boost this book is for you. There is some good marriage advice but overall the characters are just too unreal to be enjoyable or moving.
July 29, 2018
I came across this title while doing some reading on Abolitionism. It was described as having a subplot of a well known real life Puritan minister/theologian named Samuel Hopkins advocating for the end of slavery in late 18th century Newport Rhode Island. Having read and appreciated some of Beecher Stowe's other works a few years ago I decided to give it a try.
It is commendable in many respects. These included a deft, at times ironic depiction of life and mores in Puritan New England circa 1790, timely and still relevant comments on the roles of women vs men, and well drawn portrayals of the contradictions between God fearing and highly principled people vs others whose dependence on the slave trade for their economic wellbeing compromise their better judgment. It was interesting to see how the author wove Aaron Burr as a pretty significant character into the story. Abigail Adams and George Washington merited much lesser commentary.
As with any book there were shortcomings as well. The anti-slavery aspects of the novel played only a disappointingly, from my perspective, small part of the storyline. What was more significant were the romantic conflicts portrayed. The lengthy discussions of theology were more than I might have preferred. The use of very long complex, compund sentences may have been popular in those days but are not generally to my taste. The numerouss asides to the reader may also have been common in mid 19th century fiction. However, I found these to be a bit tiresome as the novel wore on. Beecher Stowe wove a very fine tapestry of life in New England of those days. Sometimes the details of the tapestry were more than I cared to plough my way through.
About 2/3 of the way into the book I debated about whether to finish it or not. The fact that I did is a testament to Beecher Stowe's adroit, albeit somewhat predictable, character development and timely use of irony. The fact that I only gave it a 3 star rating suggests that its style of prose is not quite my cup of tea. If you are a fan of mid 19th century fiction, you will probably like this book more than I did. If you are, like me, more of a fan of 'simple' fiction a la Hemingway or Haruf, you will probably find it to be more of a mixed bag. Worth reading but not as a steady diet.
It is commendable in many respects. These included a deft, at times ironic depiction of life and mores in Puritan New England circa 1790, timely and still relevant comments on the roles of women vs men, and well drawn portrayals of the contradictions between God fearing and highly principled people vs others whose dependence on the slave trade for their economic wellbeing compromise their better judgment. It was interesting to see how the author wove Aaron Burr as a pretty significant character into the story. Abigail Adams and George Washington merited much lesser commentary.
As with any book there were shortcomings as well. The anti-slavery aspects of the novel played only a disappointingly, from my perspective, small part of the storyline. What was more significant were the romantic conflicts portrayed. The lengthy discussions of theology were more than I might have preferred. The use of very long complex, compund sentences may have been popular in those days but are not generally to my taste. The numerouss asides to the reader may also have been common in mid 19th century fiction. However, I found these to be a bit tiresome as the novel wore on. Beecher Stowe wove a very fine tapestry of life in New England of those days. Sometimes the details of the tapestry were more than I cared to plough my way through.
About 2/3 of the way into the book I debated about whether to finish it or not. The fact that I did is a testament to Beecher Stowe's adroit, albeit somewhat predictable, character development and timely use of irony. The fact that I only gave it a 3 star rating suggests that its style of prose is not quite my cup of tea. If you are a fan of mid 19th century fiction, you will probably like this book more than I did. If you are, like me, more of a fan of 'simple' fiction a la Hemingway or Haruf, you will probably find it to be more of a mixed bag. Worth reading but not as a steady diet.
January 3, 2022
Mary Scudder is the devoutly Christian, eligible daughter of a Puritan widow. Place is Newport, Rhode Island; time around 1790's. Mary crushes hard on her second cousin, but he is not sufficiently dedicated to their Christian faith. An older minister is boarding in Mary's household and of course he falls in love with Mary. The notorious Aaron Burr comes in to their humble lives, and he is drawn to the fetching Mary as well.
Stowe is a gifted writer, and this novel has some truly transcendent moments. Problem is you have to slog through a lot of dry and uneventful text to get to them. Her anti-slavery campaign provides something of a subplot to the romantic intrigues. And her desire to create some progressive, modern Christian propaganda is pervasive. She also casts in on some historical events around Aaron Burr.
Stowe's defining work, Uncle Tom's Cabin, is a book that should be read by everyone. Minister's Wooing, not so much.
Stowe is a gifted writer, and this novel has some truly transcendent moments. Problem is you have to slog through a lot of dry and uneventful text to get to them. Her anti-slavery campaign provides something of a subplot to the romantic intrigues. And her desire to create some progressive, modern Christian propaganda is pervasive. She also casts in on some historical events around Aaron Burr.
Stowe's defining work, Uncle Tom's Cabin, is a book that should be read by everyone. Minister's Wooing, not so much.
July 11, 2022
I wish there were contemporary authors like Harriet Beecher Stowe. Like Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It is a very thought provoking book. Probably would not be well received in a progressive agnostic culture. I love her approach to “faith in Christ” and the struggles associated with it. Just like Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Mr. Hopkin’s benevolence towards slavery costs him church members, but you see his reward at the end of the book; while staying true to faith. You see theological topics intently approached. The struggle of faith is observed in multiple characters with steadfastness. I loved the self-sacrifice observed in several of the characters that made the book stand out. Ms. Stowe has become one of my favorite authors.
February 6, 2023
A timeless, beautifully written novel that so insightfully explores the timeless relationships between men and women, mothers and daughters, and best friends. As a Christian, I also very much enjoyed the look at Puritan Christianity, people’s pet doctrines, Christianity lived out in real life, and the difficulties (now no less than then!) of standing for an unpopular conviction from the pulpit. I will read this book again.
August 27, 2023
Classic 19th century, pre-America Civil War fiction. If you are looking for a modern novel or a passionate exploration of human relations and social issues, it likely will not engage you. However, if you are familiar with and comfortable with the usual writing styles of 19th century pre-Civil War fiction and the aware of the assumptions and the religious and social issues of that era, it is a very good read.
May 6, 2019
I just can't finish this book. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' has been my favorite book for years so I thought I'd give this a go. It's SO overly descriptive that by the time she finishes describing something in very lengthy detail I've lost track of what's really important. I really wanted to enjoy it but I give up!
February 16, 2017
A novel which truly captures what a fun and wacky bunch the puritans really were. It has its charming moments, but is weighted down by the constant drudgery of the theological conundrums Stowe explores in the novel.
December 16, 2022
According to the version I read, this was HBS's farcical, humorous look at the image of a woman's life.
So many happy endings, that were not the reality of the day. Women as decision-makers, free thinkers, householders, financially independent, respected, and happy...
So many happy endings, that were not the reality of the day. Women as decision-makers, free thinkers, householders, financially independent, respected, and happy...
December 3, 2019
This book formed a part of my dissertation. It was also included in Reinventing Cotton Mather.
October 8, 2020
Too boring... Didn't finish.
August 30, 2023
Great for a classic.
October 22, 2024
yes harriet you're right gossip IS in fact a moral imperative. also poor aaron burr cannot catch a break. 3.5 stars.
February 3, 2025
it’s literally historical fan-fiction lol
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews