Rosanna of the Amish
Rosanna of the Amish (319 pp.), a semifictionized biography, written and published in 1940 by Joseph W. Yoder of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, himself a lifelong member of the Mennonite Church. The book relates the life story of his mother, an Irish Catholic orphan, who was reared in an Old Order Amish home, married a young Amishman, Crist Yoder, and remained a loyal member of the Amish church until her death. The book gives an unusually clear and accurate picture of the brighter side of Amish life and culture. It is frankly autobiographical and contains the name of only one fictitious character, Simon Riehl, who is introduced to describe an Amish excommunication and the consequent "Meidung." Commendable Amish traits, German, perhaps, as well as Amish, receive proper emphasis: honesty, frugality, humility, hard work, joy in the completion of a task well done, friendliness, and neighborliness, all suffused with a deep religious piety. The volume catches with remarkable success the happy, joyous community spirit where interest in the simple, homely virtues and in one another's welfare enables the group to face life with an upward look and a clear conscience. It also records faithfully the religious and cultural practices of the Old Order Amish in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. In spite of evident literary shortcomings the volume deserves the popularity that has made numerous reprintings necessary. The pen sketches by George Daubenspeck add interest and value to the volume.
Additional Information
Reviewed in Mennonite Quarterly Review XV April (1941): 143-47.
| Author(s) | John S Umble |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Umble, John S. "Rosanna of the Amish." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Rosanna_of_the_Amish&oldid=67833.
APA style
Umble, John S. (1959). Rosanna of the Amish. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Rosanna_of_the_Amish&oldid=67833.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 358. All rights reserved.
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