The Reluctant Queen and Other Reformation Women (Elaine Snuggs)

The Reluctant Queen:

and Other Reformation Women

The women in this book – Lady Jane Grey, Anne Askew, Katherine Parr and Catherine Willoughby were Christian women of outstanding courage and conviction. Each was transformed by the teachings of the Reformation and experienced its dramas and dangers.

Elaine Snuggs has researched widely and deeply to portray for us four remarkable women living through a fascinating period in history, a period with immense consequences for England and indeed the world. The women are both well known (Katharine Parr, sixth and surviving wife of Henry VIII, and Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days Queen) and not so well known (martyr Anne Askew and Catherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk).

These were not flawless heroines but in their times of trial showed themselves to be brave, intelligent, educated women, of strong character and radiant spirit, living for the Lord who had saved them and whom they had come to know as the only Savior and Redeemer by grace alone through faith alone.

See how God has exercised his sovereignty in history – in the public sphere as well as in the lives of individuals, and be inspired to love Christ more, and live for him.

“No–one could be in any doubt after reading this book, that these women really knew how to give an answer for the hope that they had in Christ. Elaine demonstrates how they courageously and wisely articulated this hope, and faithfully held fast to it until the end.”

Jo Coleman, Chair, Grace Baptist Women’s Association

“What a lively presentation of some of the women involved in the English Reformation! Elaine Snuggs has written a most energetic and revealing account of some of its key figures, albeit not quite on the front line. Not only does she write the story well, but she captures something of the spirit of the times. “

Peter Barnes, Pastor, Author, Lecturer, Revesby Presbyterian Church, Revesby, New South Wales, Australia