A concise version of this review first appeared in Premier Christianity Magazine. This slightly longer review adds a few observations, and the recommendation to read the physical edition.
If you are one of the millions of English-readers who purchased and likely read Elisabeth Elliott’s bestselling ‘Through Gates of Splendor’, then this biography’s subject will be familiar to you. If she is not, then keep reading, because American and British evangelicalisms have been heavily influenced by Elliott, from her account of her first husband’s brutal martyrdom as a missionary, through her various writings and teachings on sexual purity, discipleship, and more. This book represents a major new biography of Elisabeth Elliott, by someone who has spent significant time working through Elliott’s corpus of writing, and personal correspondence. It is also a sympathetic biography, though the reader should not expect it to be uncritical.
Austen carefully weaves Elliott’s own writing (particularly diaries/journals, and family letters) in to her narrative. Jim’s martyrdom somewhat looms over the first third of the book, and then echoes resonantly throughout the rest – the fascinating tension of this book as a book is probably found in understanding who Elliott was both in her three very different marriages, and before and around them. There is also a linguistic/translations thread to the story, both to Ecuadorean tribal languages such as Kichwa (which her learning was a condition of marriage to Jim – p. 164 – but becomes a focus of her work throughout her longer life), and of the will of God, made clear in Scripture, but also in some ways communicated more subjectively. Indeed, the gradual shift from the very conservative faith of her upbringing and training is gradually refined, examined, and clarified – yet ultimately “faith was the foundation of her life” (p. 356).
This deep Christian faith, and God’s call in and on Elliott’s life can be seen in Austen’s engagement with her work on sex and romance, noting that her book “Passion and Purity… came to be seen as a foundational document of purity culture” (p. 508-9). This biography, then, is not just of a remarkable woman and servant of God, but also about the ways in which God used that woman to shape – whatever one may think of it – English-speaking evangelicalism. Austen is nuanced and careful, particularly on this topic, and the way that the author writes about Elliott’s romances and relationships gives intriguing context to what her subject taught and wrote.
My criticism of this as a book, is the fact that it uses endnotes rather than footnotes (Which someone interested in reading 500+ pages of biography wouldn’t mind, and footnotes would make it more useful for those reading for research and other purposes), and the fact that Jim’s martyrdom could have been dealt with rather more rapidly and concisely. With a number of fine photographs, and Crossway’s usual excellent production value, this is also a volume and a topic well worth the effort to read physically, if that is possible for you. I came to this book vaguely aware of its subject and came away grateful for a good book that is neither a hagiography nor a hatchet job. I warmly recommend this book. Like Elliott, it is imperfect but fascinating.
4/5
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