What’s a Quaker, Anyway? by Edith Maxwell

LUCY BURDETTE: Our incredibly prolific writer friend Edith Maxwell has a new Quaker midwife mystery out, called Turning the Tide. When she was mulling over what to write about here, she wondered if we'd be interested in the backstory--that is her character's faith as a Quaker. I thought we would. So welcome Edith!

EDITH MAXWELL: First, thanks to Roberta/Lucy for hosting me. I’m delighted to be back, and I’ll give away a signed copy of the newest Quaker Midwife mystery, Turning the Tide, to one commenter here today.

My protagonist in the series, Rose Carroll, is a Quaker, a member of the Religious Society of Friends. I happen to be one, too.

I’ve found over the years that there’s a certain lack of common knowledge about who Quakers are. No, we're not the celibate Shakers, nor the Ludditely Amish or Mennonites. Or a guy who markets oatmeal in an old-fashioned hat. Most modern Friends don’t wear “plain dress” or speak in thees and thys.

Friends have a long history - over 350 years - and much has been written about them. George Fox and Margaret Fell Fox founded the Society of Friends in England, and it soon spread to America.

The branch of Friends that I belong to and the Meetings I attend feature unprogrammed worship. This means that we sit in silence together on pews in a beautiful and simple Meetinghouse built more than 150 years ago. We sit in expectant waiting, listening for a message from the Light. It’s the same Meetinghouse that John Greenleaf Whittier advised the building of and worshiped in, and I love writing scenes with Friend John and Rose Carroll in the Meetinghouse. The wide windows on the sides are ten feet tall, with most of the panes still being original to 1851.

Friends are a tolerant bunch and, while it is at base a Christian faith, no one is quizzed on their individual belief system. One might be listening for a message from God, another for a message from Spirit, another for a message from within, and another might be mindfully meditating. All are welcome. If someone feels moved to share a message, she or he stands, speaks, and then sits. Once in a while a musical member stands and delivers her message in song. Weddings and memorial services are similar, except usually with many non-Friends in attendance.

That's it. We have First Day School for the children, fellowship and refreshments, and a monthly business meeting. We hold peace vigils as well as social potlucks.

The five Testimonies guide our lives: 

ñSimplicity

ñEquality

ñIntegrity

ñPeace

ñCommunity

Quakers believe there is that of God in each person, which leads to the core and strength of the Testimonies. We have no minister because we all minister to each other. We believe in peace and non-violence because we are all equal. Living simply frees us to help others. In earlier times Quakers wore plain dress – muted colors, simple designs, and usually the fashion of ten years prior. Rose wears simple dresses without flounces, feathers, or frippery, and a bonnet instead of a boater.
Historically, Friends have been rabble-rousers in the name of peace and equality. Mary Dyer was hung on the Boston Common in 1660 for preaching Quakerism. John Woolman traveled the American colonies urging people to give up their slaves. Poet and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier was a lifelong Friend. Quaker women from Lucretia Mott to Susan B. Anthony to Alice Paul were leaders in the women’s suffrage movement. In my series, Rose’s mother is an ardent suffragist. Many modern Quakers have been conscientious objectors in time of war.

I came to Friends as an adult, so I am a “convinced” Friend. I find that quiet worship in community suits me, as do the Testimonies. Being a Quaker suits midwife Rose, too. It's not for everyone, though. I knew someone raised as a high Episcopalian and he couldn't handle all the silence. When I visited his church, I couldn't take all the busyness.

You can read more about Quakers and Amesbury meeting at our fabulous new web site. (Digital strategist Christine Green attends our Meeting, and she recently created the site. She also worked magic on my own web site.)

Readers: What did you think Quakerism meant? If you have ever sat in silent Meeting for Worship, how was it for you? I will give away a signed copy of Turning the Tide to one commenter here today.

In the third Quaker Midwife Mystery, Turning the Tide, the Amesbury Woman Suffrage Association plans a demonstration for presidential election day of 1888 and Quaker midwife Rose Carroll joins the protest. Elizabeth Cady Stanton comes to town to help the cuase. When Rose finds a lead suffragist dead the next morning, she must deliver more than babies. Her own life is repeatedly threatened as she sorts out killer from innocent in a New England mill town.

Agatha- and Macavity-nominated author Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction. Called to Justice, Maxwell’s second Quaker Midwife mystery, is nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel. Turning the Tide releases April 8.

As Maddie Day she writes the popular Country Store Mysteries and the new Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Biscuits and Slashed Browns came out January 30. 

Maxwell is president of Sisters in Crime New England and lives north of Boston with her beau, two elderly cats, and an impressive array of garden statuary. She blogs at WickedCozyAuthors.com, KillerCharacters.com, and Under Cover of Midnight. Read about all her personalities and her work at edithmaxwell.com.