Skeptical Inquiry and Religious Awakening in Beulah, by Augusta Jane Evans

Beulah, by Augusta Jane Evans, was hugely successful at the time it was published in America in 1859. A semi-autobiographical account, the author felt it was her duty to warn readers of the problems she had experienced with religious skepticism. Advances in science after the Middle Ages led to the increasing valuation of reason and objectivity. By the early- to mid-nineteenth century it was quite fashionable to be skeptical, especially about religious matters. The eponymous heroine of the novel passes through several phases of religious faith on her intellectual journey of skepticism before she finally reawakens with a mature Christian faith. She eventually learns to properly balance faith and reason.