The Scrap-Paper Miracle Book

After listening to a history professor--even one who has a deconstructionist bent--speak better of William Carey than I have when he comes up in my teaching, I realized I might need to dig a little deeper. Raised a few questions, got some good answers, and confessed I'd not read anything book-length about the man and wasn't sure where to start. This was my prof's recommendation. George draws on older volumes but tells the story in something closer to a modern voice, which makes it more readable than the older books. Not a long book, but sufficiently detailed to help me "fix" my own material.

I am still, however, looking for support for this claim by Joni Erickson Tada that William Carey's sister was a quadriplegic, his confidante, and prayed for him every day () . All the sources seem to cite letters "to his sisters," and George points out that Mary (also known as Polly) was his favorite. Descriptions of his boyhood come from her and mention her following him around in his tromps through woods and meadow (clearly not housebound at that point). I need to dig a little more to see when (if?) she became paralyzed.

Meanwhile, George does provide a more sympathetic picture of William's efforts to be a good husband to the woman he refers to as "Poor Mrs. Carey," his first wife, and describes other struggles and tensions in a fairly sympathetic but not too worshipful language. If asked for a good biography of Carey, I might recommend this as a good choice. Need to take a look at the newer edition if I can and see what's still in print. The earliest biographies of Carey are probably available in some form online at this point.

My prof also made a case that Ruth Tucker's assessment of Carey (and especially of his marriage) was too harsh. Wm. could have sent Dolly to an institution somewhere but was committed to kindly caring for her at home, and even if he was off pursuing his many projects much of the time, the place in Serampore was a communal home. Hannah Marshman - who somehow didn't go mad after burying six of her own 12 children - was among those who made that house a home.