Introducing spiritual pioneer Mary Baker Eddy
You can find out about nineteenth century New England woman, Mary Baker Eddy, in the many and varied biographies available at Christian Science Reading Rooms.
In the year 1866, I discovered the Christ Science or divine laws of Life, Truth, and Love, and named my discovery Christian Science.
About her life
What happened to Mary in 1866?
In what seemed her final hours, after a serious accident, Mary turned to her Bible. In that darkest moment she experienced an overwhelming insight into the nature of God and God’s creation. And this healed her.
But, she wanted to find out how she had been healed.
She now turned her whole attention to her Bible. As a result of this deep and earnest searching, she discovered:
- that healing as recounted in the Scriptures is possible now
- that the spiritual import of the Bible reveals spiritual laws that undergird healing
- that these laws are universally available.
Moreover, Eddy proved the practicality of her discovery through healing others – some three hundred healings are documented in the book Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer and on record at The Mary Baker Eddy Library.
Eddy wrote a textbook so that others could learn how to apply the laws of spiritual healing. She also established courses in Christian Science healing that continue today.
Why did Eddy write a book and found a church?
About the year 1869, I was wired to attend the patient of a distinguished M.D., the late Dr. Davis of Manchester, N. H. The patient was pronounced dying of pneumonia, and was breathing at intervals in agony. Her physician, who stood by her bedside, declared that she could not live. On seeing her immediately restored by me without material aid, he asked earnestly if I had a work describing my system of healing. When answered in the negative, he urged me immediately to write a book which should explain to the world my curative system of metaphysics.
— Mary Baker Eddy, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 105
In 1879 she founded the global Christian Science movement. Biographer Robert Peel offers this:The founding of a new church would seem a long distance from the discovery of a scientific truth, but the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist, described herself in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as a discoverer—“the discoverer of Christian Science”—and in the same book she wrote (p. 313): “Jesus of Nazareth was the most scientific man that ever trod the globe. He plunged beneath the material surface of things, and found the spiritual cause.”
— Robert Peel, Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Discovery, p. ix
The Mary Baker Eddy Library
In addition to the selection of biographies available in Christian Science Reading Rooms, The Mary Baker Eddy Library is a valuable resource for research about this woman. The website states:
Since opening to the public in 2002, the Library has offered a place to explore the life, ideas, and achievements of Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded Christian Science—a pioneer whose work touched the fields of religion, health, and journalism.
For three years after my discovery, I sought the solution of this problem of Mind-healing, searched the Scriptures and read little else, kept aloof from society, and devoted time and energies to discovering a positive rule.
About her writings and the publications she founded
You can find out more about Eddy’s life and mission at a Christian Science Reading Room.
Read Science and Health or choose a biography from the sales area or borrow one from the Reading Room’s free lending library.
A librarian will be pleased to help you in-store, or by phone or email.
Available biographies
Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer
(Hardcover)
Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer is the first book-length biography of Mary Baker Eddy that specifically focuses on all of Eddy’s more than 300 known healings. The book details Eddy’s Puritan upbringing, discovery of Christian Science, healing and teaching, foundation of a global religious movement, and more. Ideal for both the casual reader and scholar, this amplified edition includes all of Eddy’s documented healings, a helpful “Prelude,” and an “Appendix” containing Eddy’s advice to students on how to heal more quickly and effectively.
Language: English
Length: 621 pages
Weight: 1.02 kg
Dimensions: 15.87 x 22.23 cm
A World More Bright: The Life of Mary Baker Eddy
(Hardcover)
Rich in historical context and brimming with lively detail, this book offers a thoroughly researched portrait of a bold Christian pioneer and her undaunted search for truth. This compelling biography will appeal to anyone seeking an accessible introduction to Mary Baker Eddy and her remarkable life. It covers her entire life, including her discovery of Christian Science and the founding of a religion and church.
Numerous full-color photographs and detailed sidebars add depth and texture to this engaging book.
Language: English
Length: 279 pages
Weight: 710 g)
Dimensions: 15.87 x 23.49 cm
We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, Volume I
(Hardcover)
This book consists of reminiscences by 22 individuals who met and knew Mary Baker Eddy—the Discoverer and Founder of the Christian Science.
Readers will find a more intimate portrait of Eddy than appears in a typical biography, including glimpses into her daily life, relationships, and the spiritual strength and personal sacrifice that underpinned her accomplishments.
Each author in this volume shares unique and inspiring accounts that often reveal their commitment, dedication, and steadfast Christianity
This expanded edition has 40% more material than previous editions, including four additional accounts. The book also includes author biographies, photographs, illustrations, endnotes, and an index.
Language: English
Length: 520 pages
Weight: 840 g
Dimensions: 15.87 x 23.49 cm
We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, Volume II
(Hardcover)
This book continues the expanded We Knew Mary Baker Eddy series, providing additional first-hand accounts of individuals who met and knew the Discoverer and Founder of the Christian Science.
Readers will find a more intimate portrait of Mary Baker Eddy than appears in a typical biography, including glimpses into her daily life, relationships, and the spiritual strength and personal sacrifice that underpinned her accomplishments.
Each author in this volume shares unique and inspiring accounts that often reveal their commitment, dedication, and steadfast Christianity.
This expanded edition features twenty never-before-published reminiscences. The book also includes author biographies, photographs, illustrations, endnotes, and an index.
Language: English
Length: 639 pages
Weight: 1 kg
Dimensions: 15.87 x 23.49 cm
Historical Sketches from the Life of Mary Baker Eddy and the History of Christian Science
(Hardcover)
This short work is a well-researched reference covering the years when Mary Baker Eddy established the Church of Christ, Scientist. Smith worked for this church for many years, and was one of its earliest historians. Each chapter in this work was originally published as an essay portraying a particular aspect of Eddy’s life or the history of Christian Science.
Language: English
Length: 267 pages
Weight: 600 g
Dimensions: 15.87 x 23.49 cm
Mary Baker Eddy and Her Books
(Hardcover)
Considered a publishing visionary, William Dana Orcutt was associated with the publishing of Mary Baker Eddy’s books for nearly 60 years. Throughout the decades that he diligently published her best-selling book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Orcutt developed a unique appreciation of Eddy and her work.
Language: English
Length: 232 pages
Weight: 480 g
Dimensions: 15.87 x 23.49 cm
Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Discovery
(Hardcover)
The first in a three-part series, this book traces the life of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, from 1821 to 1875. It takes the reader from her birth to the publication of her book, Science and Health. Drawing on letters and private papers, Peel explores the first half of Eddy’s life, her discovery of Christian Science, and the beginnings of her church.
Released in 2023, this new edition of The Years of Discovery has a refreshed design improving readability and ease of use. All references have been updated and corroborated, providing insight into original sources and conveniently positioned as footnotes rather than endnotes. This edition includes a new foreword, chronological outline and Baker family tree, a section of archival image plates with thorough image credits, an index, and a complete bibliography.
First published between 1966 and 1977, Peel’s groundbreaking three-part biography, Mary Baker Eddy, has proven invaluable to Eddy biographers in the succeeding years. Undertaken with extensive access to Church archives, these carefully researched and documented books provide a strong lens into the life and times of Mary Baker Eddy and the early history of the Church of Christ, Scientist.
Language: English
Weight: 950 g
Dimensions: 15.9 x 23.5 cm
Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Trial
(Hardcover)
The second in a three-part series, this book traces the life of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, from 1876 to 1891, immediately after the publication of her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Drawing on letters and private papers, Peel reveals how Eddy tenaciously fought and prayed for the survival of her religious movement.
Published between 1966 and 1977, Robert Peel’s groundbreaking three-part biography has proven invaluable to Eddy biographers in the succeeding years. Undertaken with extensive access to Church archives, these carefully researched and documented books provide a thorough and insightful glimpse into the life and times of Mary Baker Eddy and the early history of the Church of Christ, Scientist.
Language: English
Length: 391 pages
Weight: 770 g
Dimensions: 15.87 x 23.49 cm
Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Authority
(Hardcover)
The third in a three-part series, this book follows the life of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, from 1892 to her passing in 1910. In those years Eddy established The Mother Church in Boston, saw her movement spread around the world, wrestled with the problem of spiritual authority in an increasingly secular society, and founded The Christian Science Monitor.
Published between 1966 and 1977, Robert Peel’s groundbreaking three-part biography has proven invaluable to Eddy biographers in the succeeding years. Undertaken with extensive access to Church archives, these carefully researched and documented books provide a thorough and insightful glimpse into the life and times of Mary Baker Eddy and the early history of the Church of Christ, Scientist.
Language: English
Length: 528 pages
Weight: 1 kg
Dimensions: 15.87 x 23.49 cm
The Life of Mary Baker Eddy
(Hardcover)
An investigative journalist, Sibyl Wilbur wrote this biography of Mary Baker Eddy to correct previously published fallacies about Eddy’s life. Wilbur uses original source material and interviews from those who knew Eddy and her family to present a vivid and inspiring picture of Eddy’s character and lifework as the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. Written with Eddy’s permission and published during her lifetime, it includes black-and-white photographs and has been a foundation for later biographies.
Language: English
Length: 406 pages
Weight: 820 g
Dimensions: 15.87 x 23.49 cm
Persistent Pilgrim: The Life of Mary Baker Eddy
(Hardcover)
This compact biography contains a vivid account of Mary Baker Eddy’s persistence over a 45-year period, sharing her system of Christian healing with the world and establishing a church to perpetuate her discovery. It draws on her personal correspondence, as well as the reminiscences of many who knew or worked with her.
Language: English
Length: 366 pages
Weight: 660 g
Dimensions: 15.87 x 23.49 cm
Christian Science and Its Discoverer
(Hardcover)
E. Mary Ramsay and her sister were introduced to Christian Science in 1898, and were pivotal to the establishment of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Both spent time with Mary Baker Eddy and corresponded with her. As a way to correct misunderstandings published in the press about Eddy and Christian Science, Ramsay, a Christian Science practitioner and teacher, wrote this brief and concise biography. It is a quick and easy read for those who want a basic overview of Eddy’s life.
Language: English
Length: 123 pages
Weight: 400 g
Dimensions: 15.87 x 23.49 cm
Mary Baker Eddy
(Paperback)
In this comprehensive biography, scholar Gillian Gill portrays what she calls Mary Baker Eddy’s “astonishing life.” Having carefully examined both published and unpublished historical materials, Gill presents Eddy as a radical Christian thinker and a pioneer in recognizing the connection between spirituality and healing. Gill’s witty, easy-to-read book provides a well-rounded view of Eddy’s childhood, illustrates her remarkable leadership at a time when women faced countless challenges, and clearly distinguishes Eddy’s work from that of Phineas P. Quimby.
Language: English
Length: 713 pages
Weight: 1.11 kg
Dimensions: 15 x 23 cm
Building of The Mother Church
(Paperback)
A story of trials and triumph, Building of The Mother Church depicts the power of prayer in overcoming the countless obstacles and resistance in the planning and constructing of The Mother Church—the Original Edifice as well as the completion of the Extension and its portico entrance.
This edition includes 32 new pages of color photos depicting the rich architectural details and expansive views of this church. And for the first time, it includes all inscriptions from the walls of the church, originally selected by Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.
This book presents bold lessons in courage, persistence, and trust in God which are still instructive today.
Language: English
Length: 192 pages
Weight: 430 g
Dimensions: 15.87 x 23.49 cm