Dr Erica Canela’s debut history work, Zealous: A Darker Side of the Early Quakers, published by Pen & Sword History in the UK in late September 2025, focuses on the oft-sidelined history of the early Quakers, bringing to life these unconventional and fascinating people in Stuart Britain – with their many trials and tribulations.

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This period was at times extremely violent and traumatic – it was a post-Reformation world combined with the chaos of civil war, and this Dr Canela brilliantly focuses on this fractured society, by first setting the scene with the background history and important events leading up to the civil war, and then explaining how this volatile period led some to search for better ways of living and worshipping.

‘In the mid-1650s, the environment of uncertainty and ideological freedom helped to make Quakerism a viable religious belief system for those coping with the trauma of war’.

But the early Quakers ruffled many a feather. Canela sheds light on this extraordinary group of people who challenged societal norms in ways that shocked, bewildered, and annoyed some of their fellow Stuart-era contemporaries.

‘The Quakers viewed society outside their meetings as vice-ridden, repugnant and at risk of contaminating all of God’s creation.’

In all honesty, I hadn’t given much attention to the Quakers during my time researching the Stuart period, but that’s the great thing about specialisation: we have historians like Erica doing this amazing work. For those already acquainted with a bit of early Quaker history, Canela features the big names: George Fox, of course, but she also – crucially – also focuses upon more obscure figures, such as Humphrey Smith.

I was delighted to welcome Dr Canela as my guest on last week’s Stuart Saturday Live, and she chatted with me about her interest in the Quakers, and went over some of the topics that you’ll find in her book. I really enjoyed our chat, which you can watch below:

You can immediately tell that Canela is passionate about her subject and that enthusiasm really shines through her work. In Canela’s capable hands, the tumultuous early history of the Quakers comes to life in stunning fashion – you won’t think of Quakers the same way ever again!