Richard Baxter, A Breviate of the Life of Margaret, The Daughter of Francis Charlton, of Apply in Shropshire, Esq., And Wife of Richard Baxter

Alison Searle (University of Leeds)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.04: English Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century, 1625-1688.
Vol. editors: Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne), Claire Preston (Queen Mary, University of London), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1681

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Biography (literary)

Resources

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Penned within six weeks of the death of his wife on 14th June 1681, the

Breviate of the Life of Margaret Baxter

is a remarkable and uniquely insightful testimony to the marital experience of a Puritan couple. It traces the spiritual development of Margaret Charlton from her arrival in Kidderminster as an adolescent delighting in “

Pride

, and

Romances

, and

Company

suitable thereto” (4). She disliked the poor weavers of the town and went about “glittering her self in costly Apparel, and delighting in her Romances” (4). Soon, however, the powerful preaching of the local minister, Richard Baxter, on the “Doctrine of Conversion” was “received on her heart as the seal on the wax” (4).This precipitated a period of anxious soul-searching and ardent prayer. In his role as…

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1055 words

Citation: Searle, Alison . "A Breviate of the Life of Margaret, The Daughter of Francis Charlton, of Apply in Shropshire, Esq., And Wife of Richard Baxter". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 July 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13733, accessed 26 November 2024.]

Richard Baxter, A Breviate of the Life of Margaret, The Daughter of Francis Charlton, of Apply in Shropshire, Esq., And Wife of Richard Baxter

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