Martha Simmons: A Life

This is the first book-length study of the early Quaker minister and theologian, Martha Calvert Simmons (1624–1665), regarded as one of the foremost Quaker female ministers in the mid-1650s. Most famous for her organizing role of James Nayler’s entry into Bristol in October 1656 re-enacting Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, this book carefully reconstructs fragmentary evidence to portray the many ways she served the early Quaker movement. This book argues that from June to December 1656, Simmons was Nayler’s ‘chaste lover’. It also examines her antagonism toward leading Quaker George Fox, focused on their different views of women’s leadership within the Quaker movement.