New Perspectives on Eighteenth-Century British Quaker Women

In the last three decades, research on eighteenth-century British Quaker women reflects a range of different methodological perspectives. Recent studies focus on female spiritual development and sense of identity in the formative seventeenth century. New influences and changing contexts in the eighteenth century, especially Quietism, engendered new themes: a continuing concern with self and collective identity; theology and practices; and participation in the public and private spheres. The experiences and perceptions ofBritish Quaker women in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries reflect the influence of Deism and Evangelicalism. Despite these valuable studies, further research and systematic analysis is needed, especially concerning the gaps highlighted in the work to date. The majority of this research focuses on English Quaker women, for example. New studies such as those undertaken by Josephine Teakle point to differing experiences of women living in other contexts in the British Isles