ABSTRACT
Jane Leade was probably the most important female religious leader and prolific woman author in late seventeenth-century England. Although Phyllis Mack described her as 'the most eminent female visionary of the l690s', she still remains relatively unknown. l Jane's life spectacularly spans more than three-quarters of the seventeenth century, from 1624 to 1704. It was a century that witnessed many unusual events, such as the Great Plague, the Fire of London, the Civil War, and the execution of King Charles I. By the midseventeenth century England was in political turmoil; suffering industrial depression, a succession of bad harvests and it was at war. It gave rise to uncertainty and apocalyptic hopes were rife. In an attempt to understand these events, many people looked to the Bible for guidance. They searched for the identity of 'the Beast' of Revelation and the Antichrist in their midst, challenging everything Popish and Romish, including ecclesiastical and governmental hierarchies and even their own bishops and priests. Many people throughout the seventeenth century, then, were actively seeking alternative ways to challenge authorities, and religious sects proliferated from a world being turned upside down.
