First Wives’ Club
Nice, short, independent chapters that you can dip into if your short of time or struggling to concentrate for long periods – I read this after a having a baby & it was perfect to pick up & put down without feeling like I had to start over each time! It’s not a meaty theological read but it is encouraging to learn more about these women & how similar their lives & problems are to ours still. It is also suitable for young readers.
Sarah
First Wives’ Club
I found this book engaging, encouraging and challenging. It describes the lives of several extraordinary women in the turmoil of Reformation Europe. Amongst others, these include an escapee nun who married Martin Luther; a wife who helped her husband to mediate in doctrinal disputes; and a four–time widow, married in turn to three prominent reformers, who undertook dangerous journeys from Strasbourg to England. All the women featured in this book managed huge routine workloads; supporting friends, family and husbands, caring for the sick and sheltering refugees. They lived through epidemics, religious wars and political upheaval while furthering the spread of Biblical Christianity, persevering in personal faith and growing in their relationship with God. Their stories challenge us to do the same.
Bea Rankin
Engaging, encouraging and challenging
I found this book engaging, encouraging and challenging. It describes the lives of several extraordinary women in the turmoil of Reformation Europe. Amongst others, these include an escapee nun who married Martin Luther; a wife who helped her husband to mediate in doctrinal disputes; and a four–time widow, married in turn to three prominent reformers, who undertook dangerous journeys from Strasbourg to England. All the women featured in this book managed huge routine workloads; supporting friends, family and husbands, caring for the sick and sheltering refugees. They lived through epidemics, religious wars and political upheaval while furthering the spread of Biblical Christianity, persevering in personal faith and growing in their relationship with God. Their stories challenge us to do the same.
Bea Rankin
First Wives’ Club
You’ll probably have heard of some of their famous Reformation husbands – Luther, Calvin and others – but here, Clare Heath–Whyte turns the spotlight onto their wives. I have to admit that I started this book slightly reluctantly. These women lived so long ago – what could I possibly have in common with them? Would they be perfect, gorgeously godly women that left me feeling totally inadequate?! Don’t miss out on their stories. Turn to chapter 1 now and keep reading till you’ve finished it! Be informed, encouraged and inspired by the way these women loved and served Christ 500 years ago; learn both from their godliness and from their mistakes.
Mary Davis, St Nicholas Church, Tooting
Read it all!
You’ll probably have heard of some of their famous Reformation husbands – Luther, Calvin and others – but here, Clare Heath–Whyte turns the spotlight onto their wives. I have to admit that I started this book slightly reluctantly. These women lived so long ago – what could I possibly have in common with them? Would they be perfect, gorgeously godly women that left me feeling totally inadequate?! Don’t miss out on their stories. Turn to chapter 1 now and keep reading till you’ve finished it! Be informed, encouraged and inspired by the way these women loved and served Christ 500 years ago; learn both from their godliness and from their mistakes.
Mary Davis, St Nicholas Church, Tooting
First Wives’ Club
If, like me, you hated history at school, and know precious little about the Reformation, have no fear!
I found “First Wives Club” a great way to spend time with 6 very different Christian women who lived in the early 16th century, and to learn about the Reformation through their lives, marriages and home situations.
Some showed great godliness and courage in the public arena of church politics alongside their husbands, others served quietly behind the scenes, giving generous hospitality and compassionate care; some were exemplary in their Christian life and witness, others were far from being ministry models!
Each biography is followed by a short suggested Bible passage and questions for study and reflection, which will help the reader to view the Wives lives through “Bible eyes” and see the challenges for their own life and faith. Highly recommended!
Christa Moll
First Wives’ Club
In The First Wives’ Club, Clare Heath–Whyte writes about the lives of 6 sixteenth century wives who lived in Europe during the Reformation. Each woman’s experience of marriage and family life was different. Each of the women experienced different hardships and tragedies. But each sought to live their lives according to the Bible’s teaching rather than the culturally acceptable practices of the day.
Some of the women Clare writes about are well known; some I hadn’t heard of before reading this book. A couple were exceptionally gifted; most were ordinary. Each enhanced their husband’s effectiveness for the gospel by their support and sacrifice. Each has something to teach Christian women today about how to live whole–heartedly for Jesus in a culture that is increasingly hostile to Him.
Clare portrays each character warmly and with appreciation for their strengths and struggles. Her love of history and sense of humour is evident in each account. She is honest about the failings of the wives and their husbands – some of the details she records are shocking! She challenges the reader to be obedient to God’s word in their own lives and provides helpful Bible study questions that encourage further reflection on the issues raised in each chapter.
Sixteenth century Europe was not an easy place to live as a follower of Christ. The Reformers and their wives faced much hostility, and at times danger, as they believed and taught that the Bible was the authority by which Christians were to live and not the traditions of the church. This book will certainly inspire readers to stand firm in their faith and to maintain a gospel focus in each area of their lives. I loved reading this book and recommend it as a valuable resource for personal encouragement or group study.
Carolyn Lacey
First Wives’ Club
I absolutely loved First Wives Club – couldn’t put it down!
This book, beautifully written, was a joy to read. It gives us the portraits of six women who lived in the most dangerous but exciting time in history from a Christian point of view.
Their relationship to the Reformers gives the human interest to the book, but they were courageous godly women in their own right, whom God was able to use in a complementary way in the recovery of the true gospel of Christ and its progress in Europe.
Great role models for today!
Christine Gobbert
First Wives’ Club
I couldn’t stop reading about these six women!
I loved their passion to read the Bible when they were allowed to read it for themselves for the first time. Some had to wait while their husbands translated it for them!
They were scorned in society for marrying priests and all around them was persecution, controversy, plague and death yet they showed hospitality in a way that blew my mind.
Some were quiet and some outspoken but Jesus used them to change their world. They changed mine, too.
Liz Cox
First Wives’ Club
Standing up for Christ in our post Christian society can feel difficult and demanding. Clare’s book introduces us to women who sought to apply the bible to their lives in a culture that had neglected God’s word for generations. These sixteenth century women who were married to leading reformers began to work out what it meant for them to trust scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone and Christ alone for God’s glory. We have inherited much from the faithfulness of Christians at that time but we too are tempted to neglect God’s word and live by the values of our society. Reading the stories of these women not only brings the Reformation alive but it also exhorts us to be similarly grounded in God’s Word. This is a great book for individual reading, book groups or even to study on a women’s weekend away – it is both challenging and enlightening.
Karen Soole
