Eliza's Babes, or, the Virgin's Offering 1652

"Here is a thoroughly annotated, original-spelling, critical edition of Eliza's Babes (1652). L. E. Semler's edition comprises three substantial sections - introduction, text, and commentary - which combine to rescue this unique Interregnum book from long obscurity and to establish it as a brilliant example of mid-seventeenth-century women's writing.".

"Semler's close analysis of the book reveals much about its still anonymous female author. Her theology is typical of English Puritanism of the 1640s for it adheres closely to the Presbyterian modifications of Anglican doctrine as found in the Westminster Confession and the Directory for the Public Worship of God. Predestinarian theology is enlivened by the sheer vigor with which she lives out her estate of salvation as a marriage to Christ.

Eliza's enthusiasm (literally "being in the spirit") is its own assurance and leads to the production of literary offspring.".

"The commentary section supplies bibliographical sources and quotations, identifies every instance of editorial change to the text, glosses archaic words and explains obscure syntax. Semler's commentary is rich with citations of seventeenth-century devotional literature. This allows the reader of Eliza's Babes to rediscover some of the original contexts of its ideas and expressions and opens up many avenues for further research."--BOOK JACKET.