Howard and Anna Brinton: Anthony Manousos: 9781937768102: Amazon.com: Books

Howard and Anna Brinton: Anthony Manousos: 9781937768102: Amazon.com: Books
A Beautiful Portrait of a Powerful Quaker Couple
ByJim F. Wilsonon August 19, 2015
Format: Paperback

This is a beautifully written biography of a Quaker couple whose powerful presence pervasively influenced the Quaker community for much of the 20th century. Their lasting influence can be found in organizations and essays and through their life example as well. They were the catalysts for the founding of the Pacific Yearly Meeting on the West Coast, and for the flourishing of Pendle Hill (a Quaker community devoted to study and practice) on the East Coast.

Writing a biography of a couple is not easy. The biographer has two foci and if not handled well it can become somewhat confusing. Manousos strikes just the right balance. It helps that Manousos is writing about a married couple so that their lives overlap. I was impressed that Manousos was able to balance their lives so that the reader gets a good portrait of Howard and Anna as individuals, and Howard and Anna as a couple. Manousos does this by devoting some chapters to Howard, some chapters to Anna, and other chapters, or sections of chapters, about their life as a married couple. Taken together the reader gets a multi-faceted portrait of these two powerful personalities and their interactions.

Reading this book also gives us insight into the struggles and schisms that pervaded the Quaker community during the period covered. The Brinton’s knew, and worked with, Quakers of different persuasions, while retaining a strong commitment to their own understanding. The Brinton’s were a significant force in the emerging Liberal Quaker perspective and their legacy is strongest among those who align themselves with that tradition (that would be the ‘Independent’ Yearly Meetings, such as the Pacific Yearly Meeting, and more broadly those affiliated with Friends General Conference).

If there is a weakness in the book, I would say it is in the way that Evangelical Quakers are characterized. The book frequently uses the term ‘fundamentalist’ to describe the Evangelical Quaker tradition. The term is being used loosely and, I think, somewhat inaccurately. Most Evangelicals are not fundamentalists. Fundamentalism is a particular tradition or perspective in Conservative Christianity with specific doctrines and formulations that do not necessarily map onto the Evangelical tradition. To be fair to the author, it appears that the Brintons used the term in this loose, and I would argue misleading, way; so Manousos is reflecting that usage. Still, I think it would have been helpful to point out that distinction. This, however, is a minor point and does not undermine the efficacy of the biography.

For those who, like me, are Liberal Quakers, this book will open a significant chapter of that history. For those who are Quakers of other persuasions, this book has many thoughtful insights regarding the Quaker tradition and its overall place in Christianity and World Religions. And if you want to be inspired by a couple that embodied the Quaker Spirit in their lives, their marriage, and their work, this book is highly recommended.