Catherine Brekus— The following letters are taken from the writings of Sarah Osborn, an evangelical woman who lived in Newport, Rhode Island, during the eighteenth century. Osborn was a published author, a rarity for early American women, and she became well known during her life for leading a religious revival
Catherine Brekus— What can the story of an eighteenth-century woman’s life tell us about the rise of evangelical Christianity in America? This is the story of Sarah Osborn, a woman born three centuries ago, and the strange yet familiar world in which she lived. Strange, because she rejected many of the
Sarah Osborn was a prolific writer, drafting a memoir as well as an additional two thousand pages documenting her life. And while few people will ever write that much about their lives, even fewer will have a story to tell as fascinating and enlightening as Sarah’s. Ms. Osborn, a wife,