Penned within six weeks of the death of his wife on 14th June 1681, the Breviate of the Life of Margaret Baxter is a remarkable and uniquely insightful testimony to the marital experience of a Puritan couple. It traces the spiritual development of Margaret Charlton from her arrival in Kidderminster as an adolescent delighting in “Pride, and Romances, and Company suitable thereto” (4). She disliked the poor weavers of the town and went about “glittering her self in costly Apparel, and delighting in her Romances” (4). Soon, however, the powerful preaching of the local minister, Richard Baxter, on the “Doctrine of Conversion” was “received on her heart as the seal on the wax” (4…
1055 words
Citation: Searle, Alison . "A Breviate of the Life of Margaret, The Daughter of Francis Charlton, of Apply in Shropshire, Esq., And Wife of Richard Baxter". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 July 2006 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13733, accessed 26 November 2024.]