Joanna Southcott - Frances Brown

'And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun...' - Revelation 12, 1. Press advertisements over several decades calling for the opening of 'Joanna Southcott's Box' have made her name familiar to the public, but little more is widely known about her. This new biography of the Devon-born visionary and prophet uses previously unidentified sources to give the definitive account of her life, her writings and her influence. Born in 1750 to a Devon farmer, and growing through a rural childhood unexceptional for the time, Joanna Southcott's life was changed in 1792 when she heard the 'still, small Voice' that was to inform and guide her for the next 20 years. Her claims that it was the word of God speaking through her were rejected by church leaders, yet her prophesies of the Second Coming and her 'sealing' of believers against harm gave her many followers. Some of her writings, she was told by her inner voice, were to be kept secret and only revealed when requested by the 24 Church of England Bishops at a time of great danger - hence the existence of the famous Box. Frances Brown has researched not only in Joanna's 65 published works and unpublished manuscripts, but also among letters, newspapers, guildhall and parish records, local histories and genealogies, and even trade directories. She identifies many of the previously elusive people, places and events associated with Joanna's life. Central to Joanna Southcott's writings is the fight between good and evil in the world which, as in the Revelation of St. John, is to culminate in a terrible battle leading to a great victory for Christ over the Devil. Interest in such prophesies has increased with heightened fears of expanded potential for disasters in the new Millennium. This book will serve a need felt by many to know more about the woman who is numbered among the most influential of modern English visionaries. Among other illustrations is the first photograph of Joanna Southcott's box to be published in 140 years.