Her Life
Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911) was born in Philadelphia to a prominent Quaker family. In 1857 she married Robert Pearsall Smith, also a Philadelphia Quaker. Two years later, influenced by Methodist teaching, the couple left the Quaker Meeting and went on to become speakers and teachers in the Holiness, or Higher Life, movement.
Beyond her writing and teaching, Hannah Whitall Smith was active in the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the movement for women's suffrage, extending her convictions about practical faith into public life.
Her Books
Her first book, The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life, was published in 1875 and has since been read by millions of Christians worldwide. It was followed by several further works that continued her focus on practical, everyday faith:
- The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life (1875) — her best-known book on living faith day to day.
- Everyday Religion, or The Common Sense Teaching of the Bible (1893) — practical application of scriptural teaching to ordinary life.
- The Unselfishness of God and How I Discovered It (1903) — a spiritual autobiography tracing her Quaker upbringing and later convictions. See the dedicated page for its full contents.
- The God of All Comfort (1906) — a later reflection on comfort and the character of God.