Dyer, Mary — Quaker Martyr
-
Mary Dyer Musings – A Measure of Light , A Novel by Beth Powning, and Mary’s Joy, a Play by Jeanmarie Simpson
Playwright Jeanmarie Simpson reflects on the life and enduring mystery of Quaker martyr Mary Dyer while comparing Beth Powning’s historical novel *A Measure of Light* with her own one-woman play, *Mary’s Joy*. She examines how both works imaginatively interpret Dyer’s marriage, motherhood, religious awakening, persecution, and decision to face execution for defying Massachusetts’s ban on…