Marriage to a Difficult Man

Marriage to a Difficult Man
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Marriage to a Difficult Man : The Uncommon Union of Jonathan & Sarah Edwards

Description of Marriage to a Difficult Man:

At last the long-awaited reprint of Elisabeth Dodd's 1971 classic on the domestic life of America's most famous theologian, Jonathan Edwards, and his wife Sarah.

Description of Elizabeth D. Dodds, author of Marriage to a Difficult Man:

The lawns of New England are littered with history, and amid the lush green just outside the Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts, lies a curiously worn stone. Now easily overlooked, it was once the doorstep of the Jonathan and Sarah Edwards house. Across it tramped the feet of countless visitors: so many that the sheer labor required in feeding and housing them all positively boggles the mind. But in a day before central heat, paved roads, and refrigeration---when preparing family meals involved 40-pound iron cookware---Sarah Edwards made a comfortable home for 11 children, a steady stream of guests, and a genius.Preacher, revivalist, missionary, and college president, Jonathan Edwards is also frequently named America's greatest theologian. Few argue that he possessed extraordinary gifts. Too few realize that he married an extraordinary woman---and that together they enjoyed a love of uncommon depth. Examining them through the record of their domestic life together, Marriage to a Difficult Man offers an outstanding look at this remarkable couple.Brilliance has its price, and living with the great Puritan thinker had its difficulties. Spending 13 hours a day in his study, Edwards likely seemed distant from the daily routine of his bustling household. He once asked Sarah, "Isn't it about time the hay was cut?" To which she mildly replied, "It's been in the barn for two weeks." But he is wrongly caricatured as an unfeeling partner and parent, and this fascinating, well-written account dusts off the daily life of the Edwards household, bringing us a rich portrait of a husband and wife deeply in love with each other, and adored by and adoring their children.This long-awaited reprint of Elisabeth Dodds's classic now includes a foreword by John and Noel Piper, a biographical introduction by John Hannah, numerous appendices of important Edwardsean manuscripts, and an epilogue by descendant Dwight Edwards. 232 pages, softcover, Audubon.