The American Puritans: Their Prose and Poetry

Arranged by Perry Miller in 1956, The American Puritans is a classic collection of Puritan writings. Through a broad but judicious selection of poetry, sermons, journals, and tracts, Miller sends the reader on a deep dive into the world of seventeenth-century New England. In this volume, one encounters great speeches, such as John Winthrop's "Model of Christian Charity," tender poetry by the likes of Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor, and the influential theology of Cotton Mather and many others. Miller's scholarship is thorough and insightful, and a love for his subject matter shines throughout these pages. Far from promoting the common caricatures one finds in many studies of the Puritans, Miller presents them in a nuanced and charitable light; sometimes as stern reformers but also as thoughtful and sensitive poets, preachers, and vintage Americans.