' ... one of the two most essential reference works in early American literature ...' Early American Literature 'Rarely does a colonialist put aesthetic sensibility on the line, but that is precisely what Caldwell does here in a critical performance both important and audacious ... it is intelligent, judiciously speculative, deeply learned in its materials, and insofar as the subject allows, witty and sprightly.' American Literature 'Of special value in The Puritan Conversion Narrative is the author's concern with the genre as a unique form of expression that flourished in both Englands at the same time. In this regard the book deserves high praise, not only because of the vigor of its approach, but also because it takes on a subject of great complexity that has not until now been thoroughly discussed.' New England Quarterly ' ... it offers striking insights into the nature of Puritan piety ...' New York Review of Books ' ... Patricia Caldwell entirely succeeds in persuading us to hear 'the faint murmurings of a truly American voice.' Times Higher Education Supplement
