Retired UNE history professor pens new book on influential 19th-century Maine minister

A University of New England professor emeritus is releasing his newest historical text this fall, one that focuses on the life of an influential 19th-century Unitarian minister from Maine.

Paul Burlin, Ph.D., describes his book as a “historical look at the life and theology of Charles Fletcher Dole,” born in Brewer, Maine, into what he described as an “ultra-orthodox religious family.”

Burlin traces his life from his studies at Harvard, where he was influenced by “intellectual currents set in motion by Darwinism,” through his advocacy for progressive issues like women’s suffrage, anti-imperialism, and pacifism.

The historical text, “Charles Fletcher Dole, Liberal Theology and Reform: A Life Well-Lived,” lands in bookstores on Friday, Sept. 15.

Professor Burlin specializes in 19th-century American diplomatic history and previously published a collection of essays that traces connections between Maine and Hawaii during the American territorial expansion of the 19th century.