Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Minister's Wooing
"The Minister's Wooing" by Harriet Beecher Stowe is a historical novel first published in 1859. Set in eighteenth-century Newport, Rhode Island, the story follows Mary Scudder, who mourns her sailor love presumed lost at sea and agrees to marry the devout Minister Hopkins. The novel explores Calvinist theology's psychological impact, particularly concerning predestination and salvation, while examining New England domestic life and the region's relationship with slavery. Stowe critiques the Calvinist doctrine she was raised in through characters grappling with faith and loss.