Lucretia Mott (1793–1880) was a prominent campaigner for the rights of women, the abolition of slavery and peaceful solutions to political conflict in the United States. She was also an insubordinate Quaker. Mott was, as she put it, ‘an outlaw in my own society’. She forcefully argued against hypocrisy, empty formalism and smug tribalism within the Society of Friends. This is a nearly comprehensive collection of the surviving records of her speeches and sermons. It is organised chronologically and so traces her intellectual development, the expansion of her political engagement, her maturation as a public speaker and her response to the challenges of fame including widespread admiration and threats of physical violence. The editors have rightly chosen not to categorise her discourses. Her speeches to women's rights conventions, for example, frequently invoked slavery controversies and religious disputes.

Mott intended most of the words recorded here to be heard and not read. Inspired by long-standing Quaker practice, she preferred not to preach from scripts. When speaking she responded to her surroundings and the events of the day. She sought inspiration from God and answered the questions and assertions of others in the room. Many of the most evocative and informative entries in this collection are not ones Mott polished and edited for publication, but accounts of her words paraphrased or hurriedly recorded by reporters and scribes. Newspaper reports, in particular, contain vivid descriptions of her demeanour and manner of speaking, and the effect that she had on others in the room. Her impact was enormous.