The final article in QRT #137 (Fall 2021) is a review of Michael Birkel’s Quakers Reading Mystics (Brill Research Perspectives in Quaker Studies, 2018), by Mark Bredin. By pairing Quakers Robert Barclay, Sarah Lynes Grubb, Caroline Stephens, and Rufus Jones with mystical writers from other Christian traditions (John Cassian, Jeanne Guyon, Johannes Tauler, and Jacob Boehme), as well as Buddhist mysticism with Friend Teresina Rowell Havens, Birkel attempts to establish a direct reliance of these Friends on other mystical writers. He also draws out an creative dialogue one can hold between the Quakers and these mystics, emphasizing their similarities of language and theme. Bredin questions the direct historical connection between most of these pairs, but still “thoroughly enjoyed” the book, appreciating the “imaginative interplay between authors that points towards spiritual insights.” Check out Bredin’s full review when you order this issue and/or subscribe here.