The Chambers family 1913
Greetings members of the Press looking for information about Oswald and Biddy Chambers.
My biography, Mrs. Oswald Chambers, was published in October 2017 by Baker Publishing Group.
This page provides specific information about Biddy and Oswald Chambers, as well as the biography. My standard media page is available here.
Who were Oswald and Biddy Chambers?
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was known as the author of thirty books including the well-loved devotional My Utmost for His Highest. My Utmost for His Highest has not been out of print since first published in 1927.
A Bible study teacher with searing insight (principal of the Bible Training College in London from 1911-1915) and a popular lecturer with the League of Prayer in early 20th century England, Oswald served as a YMCA chaplain during World War I.
He was stationed at a YMCA “hut” surrounded by ANZAC troops north of Cairo, Egypt. There, he focused on the spiritual life of soldiers in a grisly war.
Oswald and Biddy circa 1912
He basically ran a revival among the troops before his untimely death in 1917.
Biddy
Oswald’s stenographer wife Gertrude Annie Hobbs Chambers (1883-1966), “Biddy,” took notes of all his messages in both England and Egypt. She “took down” at the astonishing rate of 250 words per minute.
Upon his death, Oswald left his 34-year-old wife a destitute widow with a four-year-old child in the middle of an army camp in Egypt during a world war.
Asked to remain and continue Oswald’s ministry, Biddy taught Bible classes and helped run the YMCA camp.
She returned to England in 1919 without a pension, but with a trunk full of notes she took from Oswald’s lectures.
Combining the notes with those she’d left behind, Biddy compiled, edited, and published all the books that carry her husband’s name on the cover.
She refused personal payment for her work. Biddy consistently rolled the profits from every book into producing the next book.
For more information about either Oswald or Biddy, please examine the many blog posts I’ve written about them listed here.
About Mrs. Oswald Chambers
While David McCasland wrote the definitive biography of Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God, in 1991, little was known about Biddy.
After I wrote a World War I novel in which Oswald and Biddy served as historical characters in a fictional setting, I became fascinated by Biddy.
I searched behind the scenes for information about this very talented woman and decided she deserved a biography of her own.
As I explained to my agent:
While many people know Oswald Chambers wrote My Utmost for His Highest, most are surprised to learn the devotional was not compiled and published until 10 years after his death.
Who actually put the devotional together and why? How did a woman raised in Victorian England become an astonishing stenographer who followed God’s lead across an ocean, to running a Bible College and a WWI YMCA camp in Egypt?
Where did she find the strength to return to post-war Britain a destitute widow with a small child and remake their life?
What steps did she take to not only compile My Utmost for His Highest, but also produce 29 other books with her late husband’s name on them?
What relationship with God enabled her to run a small publishing business, raise a child and provide hospitality to a never-ending line of visitors and missionaries?
Why did she refuse payment for her life’s work?
Mrs. Oswald Chambers provides insight for modern Christian women, by telling the story of a remarkable woman and how she lived her utmost for God’s highest.
Additional Information about Oswald and Biddy Chambers
I’ve written many blog posts about the couple. You can see the list here.
Here’s an hour-long interview with Chris Fabry.
Author Biography
Michelle Ule is the biographer of Mrs. Oswald Chambers: The Woman Behind the World’s Bestselling Devotional, an essayist for Utmost Ongoing: Reflections on the Legacy of Oswald Chambers, and a bestselling author of inspirational historical novellas.
She became interested in the Chambers family after using My Utmost for His Highest as a devotional and then writing A Poppy in Remembrance— World War I coming-of-age novel in which Oswald and Biddy Chambers appear as “marquee characters.”
A 40-year Bible study teacher in various Christian settings and denominations, she studied English Literature at UCLA and trained as a reporter. Michelle’s also an amateur genealogist.
Michelle lives with her family in Northern California.
You can learn more about her and read her 90+ blog posts about Biddy, Oswald, and My Utmost for His Highest at www.michelleule.com
Photos
All photos on this page are high resolution; the Chambers photos are courtesy of Wheaton College Special Collections Library.
Michelle Ule 2018
Contact Information
Michelle Ule is represented by Janet Kobobel Grant of Books & Such Literary Agency (Janet@booksandsuch.com)
Michelle Ule Webpage
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Media
Publisher’s Weekly: “Religious Biographies Spotlight Inspiring Lives,” July 14, 2017
The Revivalist Magazine, February 2017 (page 2)
The Revivalist Magazine, November 2017
Podcast interview with Eric Metaxas, October 19, 2017
Radio interview with “Dottin the I” October 16, 2017
My November 14, 2017, live interview with Chris Fabry can be heard here.
All sorts of readers love Oswald Chambers AND the Mrs.!
Daily Breeze article, October 12, 2017
(My hometown paper, describing what it was like to launch a book during a fire evacuation).
Video interview with Carmen Richards
Blog interview with Ginger Harrington
Blog interview with Shelli Littleton
Tammy Doiel on Thoughtful Thursdays wrote two insightful posts here and here.
Blog interview on Coffee Cups and Camisoles with Jaime Jo Wright
Bekah’s Bits, November 11 added another observation.
“Yes, there were still dates and such present, but Michelle’s novelist touch was present, making this a story I could crawl into and experience with all my senses.”
Carrie Padgett’s Book Talk Tuesday: Mrs. Oswald Chambers, November 7, 2017
Blog interview with Shelia Stovall, November 20, 2017.
“The Meetinghouse” on Faith Radio with Bob Crittendon on November 21, 2017
Other interviews
She’s also been interviewed on Daily Moments with Carol Henry, WTKF’s Coastal Daybreak; Mornings with Kelli; Tyson Wynn, and The Wednesday Bookmark with Brock Tozer.
Live interview on All Things Southern, November 27, 2017
Blog post by Brenda Koinis, November 29, 2017
A lovely review on page 12 by Steve Marconi in San Pedro Today, the magazine in my hometown.
WGTS with Stacey Stone in Washington, D. C. on December 7, 2017
Brock Tozer’s The Wednesday Bookmark on January 3, 2018
Michele Morin on Lifecafe, May 29, 2018
Audio of my speech at Immanuel Bible Church, Springfield, VA on June 12: Biddy, Oswald Chambers and My Utmost for His Highest. (58 minutes)
Potential Interview Questions
What sparked your interest in Oswald and Biddy Chambers?
Why was Biddy Chambers important?
Tell us about how Biddy and Oswald regarded money.
What role did stenography play in Oswald and Biddy Chambers’ life?
Who were their students and how did their ministries help spread Oswald Chambers’ writings?
How did Biddy compile My Utmost for His Highest?
Tell us about My Utmost for His Highest–copies sold, fame, and what type of devotional it is.
How did World War II’s London blitz destroy all the copies of Oswald Chambers’ books?
What happened to Oswald and Biddy’s only child, Kathleen?
Book club questions are available here: https://www.michelleule.com/resources/
Feel free to contact Michelle Ule with any further questions, here.