Book Reviews
2010; Middle East Institute; Volume: 64; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.3751/64.2.3
ISSN1940-3461
Autores Tópico(s)Islamic Studies and History
ResumoIn this riveting account, Jane Fletcher Geniesse tells story of Horatio Spafford and his Norwegian-born wife Anna, who arrived in Jerusalem in 1881 as leaders of a small group of Chicagoans known as Overcomers. The group's ostensible goal was to witness second coming of Christ, though Spaffords themselves had another purpose. Horatio had squandered $100,000 of his own and others' money; he was fleeing from debt and law. In time, Anna Spafford presided over creation of a Jerusalem commune that became known as Colony, even though many of those who joined were Swedes. Disciplines Islamic World and Near East History | Near Eastern Languages and Societies | Religion Comments Heather J. Sharkey's review of American Priestess: The Extraordinary Story of Anna Spafford and American Colony in Jerusalem by Jane Fletcher Geniesse. This review is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/nelc_papers/4 734 MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL counts are, in parts, rather elliptic. The book's analytical ? as opposed to documentary ? value would also have been enhanced by a substantial engagement with existing writings on monarchical rule, no tably Michael Herb's All in Family, main poUtical science work on family politics and succession issues in MENA monarchies. A book of this scope will always con tain some mistakes. Yet, given its ambition as compendium, a bit editing and fact checking could have helped to make it undisputed standard reference of field. The Saudi section alone contains a number of inaccuracies: King Fahd took title of Custodian of Two Holy Mosques not in 1995 (p. 80), but in 1986. Saudi Prince Waleed does not have a 14% share of Citi corp (p. 267), but a 4.4% share. The Saudi state's comptroller-general in 1950s and 1960s was not Musaid bin Abdulaziz (p. 270) (who was a religious recluse), but Mu said bin Abdulrahman, an uncle of Kings Saud and Faysal, and probably most important princely technocrat before 1975. The ruling family in 1992 contained hun dreds of grandsons of founder king Ab dulaziz rather than more than 60 (p. 240). Page 247 contains contradictory information about King Khalid's maternal background. This being said, Kechichian has done a considerable service to Middle East studies by assembling by far most comprehen sive source book on Middle East monarchies to date. Shot through with new insights and nuggets of previously unavailable informa tion, book will be a resource that scholars will gratefully mine for many years to come. Dr. Steffen Hertog, Sciences Po, Paris American Priestess: The Extraordi nary Story of Anna Spafford and American Colony in Jerusalem, by Jane Fletcher Geniesse. New York: Nan A. Talese, 2008. xvii + 313 pages. Acknowl. to p. 316. Notes to p. 348. Bibl. to p. 364. Index to p. 378. Reviewed by Heather J. Sharkey In this riveting account, Jane Fletcher Geniesse tells story of Horatio Spaf ford and his Norwegian-born wife Anna, who arrived in Jerusalem in 1881 as leaders of a small group of Chicagoans known as Overcomers. The group's ostensible goal was to witness second coming of Christ, though Spaffords themselves had another purpose. Horatio had squandered $100,000 of his own and others' money; he was fleeing from debt and law. In time, Anna Spafford presided over creation of a Jerusalem commune that became known as Colony, even though many of those who joined were Swedes. Under Anna Spafford's autocracy, and following a period of hand-to-mouth living, Overcomers went into hotel busi ness and tourist trinket trade, and saw their enterprise flourish. The American Colony eventually won respect of many local Muslims, Christians, and Jews because its members did not proselytize and because they unstintingly helped destitute and sick. The American Colony also won appre ciation from rich tourists who stayed in their lodgings without realizing that Colony children who carried their luggage, made their meals, and did their laundry had been yanked out of school just to serve them. Outsiders seldom saw strange and seamy side of group's practices. Its members yielded to dictates from Anna Spafford, who claimed to receive messages from God. These messages ordered Colony members to practice first celibacy and later sharing of beds (swapping husbands and wives and placing young girls with older men), as a way of testing their ability to resist temptation. (Many failed test.) Spafford separated parents from offspring, discouraged children from getting too much education, forbade reading for pleasure, saw that misbehaving youngsters were stripped naked and whipped, and provided followers with meager meals. However, she exempted her own daughters, Bertha and Grace, from this regimen, and insured that they received French and piano tutoring (and good food) in addition to academic training. When Bertha reached maturity, Anna Spafford received a message relaxing ban on marriages. When Bertha went into childbirth, Spafford relaxed ban on seeking professional med MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL 735 ical help (since she had for years insisted on exclusive healing power of prayers). Periodically, a member of die American Colony would escape, bringing news of Spaffords' abuses to attention of Ameri cans consuls. One consul in particular, Reverend Selah Merrill, was so appalled that he sent regular reports to US State Department, which filed them away. Protes tant missionaries in Jerusalem also were ap palled, and shunned group. Perhaps mis sionaries had heard, for example, of Anna Spafford's belief that death, however caused (by heart attack, tuberculosis, or otherwise), was God's punishment for an individual's sin and that she herself, being blameless, would never die. But Anna did die, in 1923, leaving her followers stunned and adrift. The American Colony soon collapsed as a religious cult, and an acrimonious fight over Colony assets ensued. Anna's daughter Ber tha obtained control of American Colo ny Hotel, which flourishes even today, and devoted her spare energies to social service. Years later, King Husayn of Jordan awarded Bertha Jordanian Star in recognition of her work on behalf of Jerusalem's children, making her the only Christian woman ever to have received that honor (p. 309). Geniesse's occasional insertion of imag ined dialogue and of stereotyped summaries of Middle Eastern history (e.g., her dismiss al of Sudanese Mahdist movement as a revolt by Muslim fanatics [p. 124], and re duction ofthe 1860 civil war in Mount Leba non to a terrifying massacre of [p. 184]) weakens book. Nevertheless, Geniesse succeeds in bringing this story of American Colony alive, and result is a memorable account. Particularly fascinat ing is way she connects Spaffords to contemporaries like Dwight L. Moody, most popular American evangelical of 19th century; Eliezer ben Yehuda, who engineered modern revival of Hebrew; Charles Gordon, British general who later died in Khartoum; Djemal Pasha, Young Turk who presided over Ottoman army in Palestine during World War I; and Selma Lagerlof, Swedish writer, whose novel Jerusalem drew inspiration from American Colony and helped her to win Nobel prize for literature. After reaching Jerusalem in 1881, Spaffords and their fellow Overcomers had initially sympathized with Jewish return to Palestine, which they regarded as a pre requisite for Christ's second coming. Per haps most surprising turn in their his tory is that they did not become Christian Zionists, as term is now understood, and that they watched Jewish Zionists' state like organization with mounting unease. By time World War I ended, Anna Spafford and members of American Colony had developed a vision of a Jerusalem that would be open to all people who called it their home, including Arab Muslims and Christians of Palestine. Heather J. Sharkey, author of American Evangelicals in Egypt: Missionary Encoun ters in an Age of Empire (Princeton Uni versity Press, 2008), is Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at University
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