World of Trouble: A Philadelphia Quaker Family’s Journey through the American Revolution

An intimate account of the American Revolution as seen through the eyes of a Quaker pacifist couple living in Philadelphia

Describe[s] in illuminating detail the sometimes dramatic experiences of this Quaker family, living in a major colonial city during a time of rebellion and feeling incessant pressure to modify their religious convictions for the sake of the patriot cause… . Well-written and fascinating. -Robert K. Landers, Wall Street Journal

Historian Richard Godbeer presents a richly layered and intimate account of the American Revolution as experienced by a Philadelphia Quaker couple, Elizabeth Drinker and the merchant Henry Drinker, who barely survived the unique perils that Quakers faced during that conflict. Spanning a half-century before, during, and after the war, this gripping narrative illuminates the Revolution’s darker side as patriots vilified, threatened, and in some cases killed pacifist Quakers as alleged enemies of the revolutionary cause. Amid chaos and danger, the Drinkers tried as best they could to keep their family and faith intact.

Through one couple’s story, Godbeer opens a window on a uniquely turbulent period of American history, uncovers the domestic, social, and religious lives of Quakers in the late eighteenth century, and situates their experience in the context of transatlantic culture and trade. A master storyteller takes his readers on a moving journey they will never forget.