Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
Set in a late 19th-century fishing village, A Singular Life follows the unconventional path of Emanuel Bayard, a man determined to live a life of moral clarity and service after leaving the pulpit. As he befriends a local woman with a troubled past and takes a stand against societal norms, his actions provoke admiration and outrage alike. With a focus on ethical living, gender justice, and compassion over doctrine, the novel reflects both spiritual and social reform ideals of its era.Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward (nee Mary Gray Phelps, 1844-1911) was an American author and an early advocate of clothing reform for women, urging them to burn their corsets. A Singular Life is a novel about the lie and works of an Episcopal clergyman.
