About the Author

Kathi Kern is Associate Professor of History at the University of Kentucky.

Reviews

"In 1895, Elizabeth Cady Stanton shocked the nation by releasing the Women's Bible, a commentary on key biblical passages that challenged the notion of women's subordination in any sphere, particularly the church. Yet this incident has been surprisingly understudied by religion scholars and feminists... Kern's book about the Women's Bible is incisive, well written and long overdue."-Publishers Weekly, January 2001 "Well documented with ample references, this book might not sway readers, but the extensive evidence and thoughtful analysis are worth engaging."-Library Journal, February 2001 "Kathi Kern's new book is more than a study of Elizabeth Cady Stanton's The Woman's Bible. It is the first serious examination of the thought of this towering figure in the history of feminist theory... Kern brings the tools of intellectual history to this complex legacy and fully appreciates the historical contradictions involved... Overall, this book is an impressive achievement."-Ellen Carol DuBois, UCLA. American Historical Review, February 2002 "This tightly written and well-researched book uncovers in all their complexity the regional, national, and international dynamics of the American women's movement, as well as the diversity of beliefs that facilitated those connections but also contributed to discord."-Lori Williamson, University of Wolverhampton. History, Fall 2001 "Kern demonstrates that the Women's Bible itself played a fundamental role in the movement's new conservatism because it sparked Stanton's censure and the elimination of her fellow radicals from the national American Woman Suffrage Association. Mrs. Stanton's Bible dramatically portrays this crucial chapter of women's history and facilitates the understanding of one of the movement's most controversial texts."-Allegheny Magazine,Fall/Winter 2001 "Kern's enlightening and detailed analysis of Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Woman's Bible fills a void in the historiography surrounding the women's suffrage movement... Persons with a strong interest in American women's religious history will want to add this book to their personal library."-Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty, St. Andrews Presbyterian College. Journal of Scripture and Theology, January 2002 "This very important book promises a much needed corrective to previous work portraying Elizabeth Cady Stanton as a commited secularist. Through responsible research and a fresh, original perspective, Kathi Kern provides us access to a substantial feminist critique of Christianity by a towering nineteenth-century intellectual."-Ann Braude, Harvard Divinity School "In Mrs. Stanton's Bible, Kathi Kern does not back away from the embarassing evidence of Elizabeth Stanton's racist and classist prejudices but demonstrates how her subject's religious views helped shape those values. This masterful and timely book will remedy significant deficiencies in our historical knowledge."-John R. McKivigan, Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis

In 1895, Elizabeth Cady Stanton shocked the nation by releasing the Woman's Bible, a commentary on key biblical passages that challenged the notion of women's subordination in any sphere, particularly the church. Yet this incident has been surprisingly understudied by religion scholars and feminists. In Mrs. Stanton's Bible, Kathi Kern argues that Stanton's association with the project "had the ironic effect of diminishing her historical stature" among other, less controversial, suffragists. It may also have delayed the 19th Amendment, since Stanton's Bible was quoted by antisuffragists as an example of the inherent dangers of permitting women a public voice. Kern's book about the Woman's Bible is incisive, well written and long overdue. Mar. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.