Transcriptions of letters by Sarah Hartwig, Susanna Klein, and Elizabeth Renner (ed. Fiona Leach).pdf
This file contains the full collection of letters by three women (Sarah Hartwig, Susanna Klein, and Elizabeth Renner) involved in the British Mission to West Africa, as transcribed and edited by Fiona Leach.
The collection is a valuable addition to Brill's Reclaiming the Women of Britain’s First Mission to West Africa: Three Lives Lost and Found by Fiona Leach.
Reclaiming the Women of Britain’s First Mission to West Africa is the
compelling story of three long-forgotten women, two white and one black,
who lived, worked and died on the Church Missionary Society’s first
overseas mission at the dawn of the nineteenth century. It was a time of
momentous historical events: the birth of Britain’s missionary
movement, the creation of its first African colony as a home for freed
slaves, and abolition of the slave trade. Casting its long shadow over
much of the women’s story was the protracted war with Napoleon.
Taking as its starting point a cache of fifty letters from the three
women, the book counters the prevailing narrative that early missionary
endeavour was a uniquely European and male affair, and reveals the
presence of a surprising number of women, among them several with very
forceful personalities. Those who are interested in women’s life
history, black history, the history of the slave trade and British
evangelism will find this book immensely enjoyable.