In this comprehensive biography, scholar Gillian Gill portrays what she calls Mary Baker Eddy's "astonishing life." After carefully examining both published and un-published historical materials, Gill presents Eddy as a radical Christian thinker and a pioneer in recognizing the connection between spirituality and healing, as well as an extraordinary leader despite the severe obstacles women faced in the nineteenth century. Says Gill of her subject, "From the moment I began to read about [Eddy] she fascinated me, and although she and I appeared to have little or nothing in common, she came to command my respect, my admiration, and even my affections."
Gillian Gill’s writing style is witty and easy to read. There are three areas in which Gill’s book provides useful information about Mary Baker Eddy’s life: she presents the feminist perspective, she gives a more well-rounded view of Mrs. Eddy’s childhood, and she makes it clear that Mrs. Eddy did not plagiarize Phineas P. Quimby.