Retrospection and Introspection

Mary Baker Eddy's *Retrospection and Introspection* (1891) is a concise spiritual autobiography that traces the formative experiences behind her emergence as the founder of Christian Science. Moving from childhood religious questioning and personal suffering to her discovery of spiritual healing and the establishment of a worldwide movement, Eddy presents her life as evidence of divine guidance rather than as ordinary personal memoir. Its episodic structure, biblical allusions, devotional diction, and admonitory tone place it within nineteenth-century Protestant autobiography while also reflecting the era's fascination with spiritual experience, alternative healing, and religious reform. The work is therefore both testimony and theological interpretation, designed to illuminate the principles later systematized in *Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures*. Born Mary Morse Baker in 1821, Eddy was shaped by New England Congregationalism, chronic illness, bereavement, and sustained engagement with questions of prayer, Scripture, and healing. Her experiences, including the healing episode she regarded as decisive in 1866, convinced her that divine Mind—not material force—constituted the basis of genuine restoration. Written after years of controversy and institutional development, this volume responds to public curiosity while defending the spiritual logic of her life and mission. Readers interested in American religious history, women's authorship, nineteenth-century reform movements, or the rhetoric of spiritual autobiography will find the book especially rewarding. It offers an indispensable primary source for understanding Eddy's theology, self-fashioning, and enduring influence.