When we read Ellen White's letters and manuscripts, it is critical to understand correctly both the authorial context and the original reader's context of those documents. By authorial context we mean the specific circumstances in which she was living while she penned her messages, with special attention to the interrelationship between the geographical setting, the moment in time, the social-cultural milieu, and the conditions in the church, as well as her own state of health and emotional conditions. 1EGWLM 35.4
While most of Ellen White's prophetic ministry took place in the United States of America (1844-1885, 1887-1891, 1900-1915), she spent two years in Europe (1885-1887) and almost a decade in Australia (1891-1900), traveling extensively in those places. Most of the time she was surrounded by receptive people, but there were also occasions in which she met strong opposition while rebuking error. Sometimes she was in good health and of good courage; other times she faced health problems. She experienced the grief of losing two sons (1860, 1863) and her own husband (1881) in death. Her personal feelings on such a variety of circumstances showed up in her more personal writings to close friends. 1EGWLM 35.5
There are two major categories of works that help in understanding the circumstances in which Ellen White penned many of her personal writings.11Bibliographic information for the titles referred to may be found in the bibliography. The first category includes her own autobiographical works that provide more specific insights into her daily life and the people with whom she interacted across time. Among those works are Spiritual Gifts, volume 2; her later “Biographical Sketch” published in Testimonies for the Church, volume 1, pages 9-112; and Life Sketches. Ancestry, Early Life, Christian Experience, and Extensive Labors of Elder James White, and His Wife, Mrs. Ellen G. White. Much of the content of these three sources was included in her final and more complete autobiographical work titled Life Sketches of Ellen G. White. But her most comprehensive biography is undoubtedly Arthur L. White's six-volume set titled Ellen G. White.12See note 1 above. An abridged version is titled Ellen White: Woman of Vision. A more specific study covering the time she spent in Europe (1885-1887) was provided by D. A. Delafield in his Ellen G. White in Europe. 1EGWLM 36.1
Another category of helpful works is comprised of the more general studies that describe the larger scenario in which Ellen White carried on her prophetic ministry. Two of the most insightful works about the specific times in the United States in which she lived are The World of Ellen G. White, edited by Gary Land, and George R. Knight's Ellen White's World. Additional background can be found in Otto L. Bettmann's The Good Old Days—They Were Terrible! and Timothy L. Smith's Revivalism and Social Reform. The medical practices of those days are well described in Richard A. Schaefer's Legacy: Daring to Care, and D. E. Robinson's Story of Our Health Message. 1EGWLM 36.2
Beyond the authorial context of Ellen White as a writer, it is important to understand the contexts of the original readers to whom her letters and manuscripts were addressed. Since many of those writings were sent to unfamiliar places and even to other countries, it is advantageous to seek some knowledge of what was going on in those places. But to reconstruct such a variety of scattered contexts is not an easy task. One of the most helpful resources in this attempt is Arthur L. White's already-mentioned six-volume set Ellen G. White.13See note 1 above. 1EGWLM 36.3
Even when a full picture of the original reader's context is not available, the student of Ellen White's correspondence should seek at least some knowledge about the person to whom she sent her message. A good starting point is the second revised edition of the Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia. An even more specific and detailed source of information is the Ellen G. White Encyclopedia. The annotations in the present published volume of her letters and manuscripts are also intended to aid in the task of learning the original reader's context. 1EGWLM 36.4