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Reposted by Alice Thornton's Books

Cordelia Beattie @cordeliabeattie.bsky.social · 10h

The Thorntons helped Christopher and Anne Danby out in the 1660s. Alice was still pursuing this 'debt' in her last will and testament, written in 1705! #EarlyModern 📜 🗃️

Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 12h

8 Oct. 1688 #OTD Thornton wrote to her great-nephew, Abstrupus Danby, seeking help with her son’s debts. She reminded him ‘how sad and necessitous a condition your father and mother ... were in for several years when their just right was detained from them and they cast off by all’. #EarlyModern 1/2

Outside of a 17th-century letter. Addressed to Abstrupus Danby at his house in York. Above that he has annotated it as a letter from his aunt Thornton, about what she did for his family, and that he is willing to pay her £50 next Martinmas.

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Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 12h

Abstrupus noted on the outside of the letter (pictured) that he was willing to pay £50 (Thornton had asked for £150, claiming to have spent over £300).

Image: Letter from Alice Thornton to Abstrupus Danby, October 8 1688. NYCRO, ZS: Swinton and Middleham Estate Records. 2/2 📜 🗃️

Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 12h

8 Oct. 1688 #OTD Thornton wrote to her great-nephew, Abstrupus Danby, seeking help with her son’s debts. She reminded him ‘how sad and necessitous a condition your father and mother ... were in for several years when their just right was detained from them and they cast off by all’. #EarlyModern 1/2

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Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 2d

Image: Peeter Gijsels, Landscape with Figures and Carriages (second half of 17th century). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 2d

6 Oct. 1636 #OTD a young Alice, her mother and brothers were in a coach accident on the way to Kildare. The driver was worried they would all fall into a river and drown and so did ‘throw the coach' towards the other side 'which did hurt some of us’ (Bk 1). #EarlyModern 🗃️

A 17th-century painting of a rural scene with a coach and horses in the centre.

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Reposted by Alice Thornton's Books

Naomi Baker @drnaomibaker.bsky.social · 2d

Hester Biddle was a Quaker preacher who was imprisoned 14 times, often simply for preaching. She was enraged by the growing inequalities of C17th London and warned that God would judge those who ignored the needs of those begging for food on the streets. Ch 7 of Voices of Thunder tells her story

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Reposted by Alice Thornton's Books

Naomi Baker @drnaomibaker.bsky.social · 3d

Ch 6 of Voices of Thunder tells the inspiring story of the London lace woman Elizabeth Attaway, the first C17th woman to preach publicly to a mixed-sex congregation. Her Baptist church did not let women preach, but Attaway did not allow her low social status or her sex to be a barrier … 1/2

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Reposted by Alice Thornton's Books

Naomi Baker @drnaomibaker.bsky.social · 8d

Just two weeks until Voices of Thunder is published! If you’re interested in hearing the stories of a dozen radical seventeenth-century women, it can be pre-ordered now ⚡️#earlymodern #womenshistory

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Reposted by Alice Thornton's Books

Naomi Baker @drnaomibaker.bsky.social · 7d

Ch 1 of Voices of Thunder tells Rose Thurgood’s story. She lived in Colchester, where she and her children were poor to the point of starvation. As a C17th woman writing from this perspective, her voice in the archive is unique. Her account of her life is in manuscript @thejohnrylands.bsky.social

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Reposted by Alice Thornton's Books

Naomi Baker @drnaomibaker.bsky.social · 6d

Ch 3 of Voices of Thunder tells the story of the self-proclaimed prophet Elizabeth Poole, one of the only women of her era to intervene in political debate at the highest level. Just weeks before Charles I’s execution, Poole demanded an audience with Cromwell and the council of officers. 1/2

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Reposted by Alice Thornton's Books

Naomi Baker @drnaomibaker.bsky.social · 5d

Sarah Wight, a 17th-century London teenager and Baptist who struggled with extreme anxiety, is the subject of Chapter 4 of Voices of Thunder. Sarah co-wrote a searing but ultimately inspirational account of her experiences. She went on to become a well-known spiritual counsellor. #earlymodern

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Reposted by Alice Thornton's Books

Naomi Baker @drnaomibaker.bsky.social · 4d

A serious contender for my favourite woman in Voices of Thunder! Anna Trapnel was a young woman who publicly criticised Oliver Cromwell. A thorn in the side of the authorities, she was accused of being a witch. Trapnel was a true radical, advocating for a fairer society for all. #earlymodern

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Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 5d

Image: Memorial stone for Thomas Comber, Stonegrave Minster. Cordelia Beattie, 2022.

Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 5d

3 Oct. 1700 #OTD Alice Thornton’s daughter, Alice Comber, gave bond of £2000 to prove the will of her late husband, Thomas Comber. In his will he left Alice Thornton £10 for mourning dress and specified that the annuity he had paid her since 1692 should continue. #EarlyModern 🗃️

Photo of a 17th-century dark memorial slab - text upside down - surrounded by tiles in a geometric pattern. At the top of the photo you can see the lower part of the altar.

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Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 6d

These lines closely follow Francis Quarles, ‘Meditation 12’ in Divine Poems (1633), 49.

Image: Woman Reading by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, Dutch, 1606–1669; public domain via Creative Commons.

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Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 6d

#NationalPoetryDay Thornton included poetry in her books. E.g.
'Lord, guide my heart, and give my soul direction,
Subdue my passions, curb my stout affections,
Nip thou the bud, before the bloom begins:
Lord, the ever one, keep me from presumptuous sins.'
(Bk Rem, 5) #EarlyModern 📜 📚 1/2

17th-century drawing of a woman, in a headscarf, reading a book.

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Reposted by Alice Thornton's Books

Gender & History Journal @genderandhistory.bsky.social · 13d

We are delighted to announce that Gender & History now has a new home at the University of Edinburgh. With thanks to the Sheffield team who did a stellar job for the last five years. hca.ed.ac.uk/gender-histo...
#Skystorians #GenderHistory @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social

'Gender & History' moves to Edinburgh | School of History, Classics & Archaeology | History Classics and Archaeology

The School is very excited to announce that the leading international journal ‘Gender & History’ has moved to the University of Edinburgh.

hca.ed.ac.uk

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Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 15d

Image: Portrait of a baby, in lace costume lying upon a bed, oil on panel, 17th century. Anglo-Dutch school. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 15d

23 Sept. 1656 #OTD Alice Thornton’s 8th child, Joyce, was born at East Newton about 4 o’clock in the afternoon; ‘it pleased the Lord to make me happy in a goodly strong child, a daughter, after an exceedingly sharp and perilous time’ (Book 1).
#EarlyModern 🗃️

17th-century painting of a baby lying in a bed of silver hues. The baby's clothes and headdress and the bedding match.

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Reposted by Alice Thornton's Books

Naomi Baker @drnaomibaker.bsky.social · 20d

Women have been speaking out about abuse for centuries! I wrote about Anne Wentworth, a 17th-century survivor of domestic abuse, for @theconversation.com #earlymodern

The 17th-century woman who wrote about surviving domestic abuse

In the 17th century, Anne Wentworth spoke out against her abusive husband and the religious institution that protected him.

theconversation.com

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Reposted by Alice Thornton's Books

Cordelia Beattie @cordeliabeattie.bsky.social · 18d

According to the later Comber, 'The title of this MS is somewhat long, but a part of it is as follows: "A Collection of
Almighty God's favours, mercies, and deliverances of myself when I was with Child of my seventh Child, and only surviving Son Robert Thornton" (plus 88 more words!). #EarlyModern

Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 18d

In Bk2, Thornton wrote that 'The fuller description is related in my "Book of Meditations" on this subject'. It seems that her great-great-grandson, Thomas Comber, had access to this other - now untraced - book when he wrote 'Memoirs of the Life and Death of Mrs Alice Thornton' in 1799. 2/3 📚 📜

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Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 18d

Image: East Newton Hall, Oswaldkirk, North Yorkshire. (Roger Smith / East Newton Hall / CC BY-SA 2.0). 3/3

Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 18d

In Bk2, Thornton wrote that 'The fuller description is related in my "Book of Meditations" on this subject'. It seems that her great-great-grandson, Thomas Comber, had access to this other - now untraced - book when he wrote 'Memoirs of the Life and Death of Mrs Alice Thornton' in 1799. 2/3 📚 📜

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Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 18d

20 Sept. 1662 #OTD Thornton’s 7th child, Robert, was baptised by Mr Lowcock in her chamber at East Newton Hall. His godparents were Dr Robert Wittie (who treated Thornton during pregnancy), Henry Best (her nephew-in-law) and Katherine Cholmley (who assisted at the birth). 1/3 #EarlyModern 🗃️

Photo of a 17th-century hall, surrounded by lower farm buildings, with a green field in the foreground and some very tall trees.

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Alice Thornton's Books @thorntonsbooks.bsky.social · 19d

Image: Memorial to Robert Thornton in the Chapel of
the Nine Altars, Durham Cathedral. Photograph:
Cordelia Beattie.