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Jessie Penn-Lewis (1861-1927) was a Welsh evangelical speaker and author of a number of Christian evangelical works. Her father was a Calvinist Methodist minister. She was married to William Penn-Lewis. She was involved in the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival, one of the largest Christian revivals ever to break out, although the revival was abruptly shortened with the mental and physical collapse of one of the leaders, Evan Roberts.[1] Penn-Lewis traveled internationally to take her message to audiences in Russia, Scandinavia, Canada, the U. S., and India. She is a controversial figure among Christians today due to the nature of her writings.
Penn-Lewis was close to Evan Roberts and there is some controversy associated with her influence over him. After the breakdown by Roberts cut the revival short, he stayed with the Penn-Lewis's for a couple of years, but never fully recovered. Ultimately, Penn-Lewis declared the failure of the Welsh Revival to be the work of Satan. Penn-Lewis, along with Roberts, wrote a work on spiritual warfare called War on the Saints, which purports to show the work of demons on Christians, the theme for which Penn-Lewis is most known.
Penn-Lewis was influenced by the reformed South African writer Andrew Murray among others, and her books contain quotes from him and references to his works. Frank Buchman credits Penn-Lewis with helping him to turn his life around from depression when he heard her speak at a Keswick Convention.[2] Buchman was the founder of the Oxford Group.