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Ann Shaw (1788-1854), the author's ancestor, was hailed by both immigrant and indigenous South Africans as their spiritual mother, the 'Mother of Methodism in South Africa'. However, all accounts of early South African history have erased her influence, including those written by her husband, Rev. William Shaw, the 'Wesley of Africa'. Had something necessitated Ann's removal from the records? With tenacious scholarship, McAlpine-Black discovers Ann's letters, her poetry, and the female threads of the lives that surrounded her-and weaves a family history into an international narrative. Ann Shaw lived at a time when women were discouraged from taking part in church ministry. Despite this, Ann journeyed from the English fens to the African Cape, becoming the most significant female catalyst for Methodism and education in South Africa. Now Methodism is its largest denomination. In addition to the challenges of women's diseases, miscarriage, childbirth, family life, and patriarchy in the early nineteenth century, Ann's story unearths the female roots of Methodism, a fresh and compelling history of South Africa, and the high cost of motherhood.
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