“An extraordinarily rich exploration of the first hundred years of evangelical faith in the South. . . . Heyrman has given us a great deal to think about in this wonderfully told and beautifully written story. In the end, we are left to ponder what the South, and indeed the United States, might look like today if those 18th-century evangelical firebrands with their message of freedom for slaves and recognition for women had managed to carry the day.”—Charles B. Dew, New York Times Book Review
“Heyrman provides an elegant and evocative portrait of the early estrangements. Southern Cross has narrative power, unusually combining incisiveness with humanity. . . . It is hard to see that her book has a serious competitor.”—Times Literary Supplement
“Indispensable for the study of southern religion.”—Religious Studies Review
“A remarkable study. . . . Although other historians . . . have noted the slow process of evangelization that culminated so successfully in the mid-nineteenth century, none have told the story with such compelling detail, compassionate sympathy and wise humor as Heyrman.”—Georgia Historical Quarerly
“An eloquent piece of narrative history. . . . This is an outstanding book, impressively saturated with primary sources, beautifully written, and spiced with pervasive wit. Heyrman offers a novelist’s sensitivity to the many colorful characters in her tale. . . . A remarkable book that will set a high standard for future studies of religion in the antebellum South.”-—Kirkus Reviews
“A wonderful book. . . . With meticulous documentation and an elegant writing style.”—Philadelphia Inquirer
“Describes in vivid and convincing detail, the ways in which Southern evangelicals remade their faith to fit more easily into their society. For that accomplishment, and for tackling the history of the evangelical mainstream in an innovative way, this book represents an important contribution.”—Koinonia
“Undoubtedly one of the most important, and most impressive, works on southern religion to appear this decade.”—Atlanta History
“A masterly study combining meticulous scholarship, thoughtful argument, and informed storytelling. Heyrman brings literary wit and grace to her subject, and students and scholars of the early National period and the antebellum South will be well-rewarded by this engaging text.”—Maryland Historical Magazine
“One of the most engaging and compelling histories I have ever read; indeed, it is the best history of religion in the South that we now have and is sure to become a model of how we should do religious history.”—Donald Mathews, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
