Clothed with Strength

It’s easy to imagine that Christian women of the past were shrinking violets who were side-lined and excluded from making a difference in the church and in the world.

The truth is that God has always raised up strong and courageous women to do his work. You might never have heard of Rebecca Protten, Hannah More, Ellen Ranyard and Josephine Butler, but you’ll never forget how God used these four very different women to fight against injustice and poverty and to transform lives. These eighteenth and nineteenth century women worked in partnership with men to shape the evangelical church. Let their stories challenge you and fuel your faith today.

In Clothed with Strength, Sarah Allen brings us the true stories of God working powerfully in and through the lives of four women in different places and times in history. She weaves a narrative that is wonderfully readable yet full of a historian’s nuance and detail, helping us as modern readers to grasp the challenging times in which they lived as well as their unique gifts and frail humanity through which God chose to work. Read this book — and share it with others — to be encouraged to speak of Christ and show his mercy, whoever you are and wherever you find yourself.
Jen Charteris, Executive Director, Crosslands

Clothed with Strength is a fantastic and fascinating book, re-counting the lives of four contrasting women whose stories interweave, all connected by the common thread of Christ’s transforming power. Sarah Allen relates their achievements and struggles with compassion and understanding, as well as an awareness of the wider historical movements that formed the background of their lives. Yet it is all done with a lightness of touch. I was moved to tears more than once. These four stories cover the period in which our modern world was formed and speak powerfully to issues of race and class. Above all, they will inspire you to follow Christ.
Tim Chester, author of several Bitesize Biographies including Mary Jones

Throughout Christian history, faithful and strong women have served the Lord. All too often, sadly, their stories have faded into obscurity. Here, Sarah Allen introduces us to four of those women whose lives spanned two centuries and half the world. Freed woman and gifted evangelist, Rebecca Protten, is followed by writer and activist, Hannah More. We learn about Ellen Ranyard’s army of Bible Women and Josephine Butler’s work for and on behalf of many women, including those who were sexually abused, assaulted and forced into prostitution. In the pages of this book, again and again we see their courage and their faith. They did not hesitate to put their faith into practice, no matter what it cost them. The challenge for us is simple: will we do the same?
Ros Clarke, Associate Director, Church Society

Jesus Christ calls us to repent, believe, and to live out our faith. ‘Faith without works is dead’ ( James 2:17). Sarah Allen has provided a compelling account of four women who, in very different contexts, lived out their love for God as they served others. Their stories challenge us, in our day, to fulfil our calling to be salt and light in a corrupt and dark society. But they also inspire us to see that God is well able to supply the resources we need to fulfil that call.
Sharon James, author and Social Policy Analyst, The Christian Institute