{"product_id":"romancing-the-vote-leslie-petty-9780820357126","title":"Romancing the Vote: Feminist Activism in American Fiction, 1870-1920","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs the nineteenth century progressed into the twentieth, novels about politically active women became increasingly common. Until now, however, no one has studied this body of writing as a distinct tradition in American literature. In \u003cem\u003eRomancing the Vote\u003c\/em\u003e, Leslie Petty recovers this tradition and also examines how the fiction written about the women's rights and related movements contributed to the creation and continued vitality of those movements.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePetty examines the novels as paradigms of feminist activism and reform communities and elucidates how they, whether wittingly or not, model ways to create similar communities in the real world. She demonstrates how the narratives provide insight into the hopes and anxieties surrounding some of the most important political movements in American history and how they encapsulate the movements' paradoxical blend of progressive and conservative ideologies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe major works discussed are Elizabeth Boynton Harbert's \u003cem\u003eOut of Her Sphere\u003c\/em\u003e (1871), Lillie Devereux Blake's \u003cem\u003eFettered for Life\u003c\/em\u003e (1874), Henry James's \u003cem\u003eThe Bostonians\u003c\/em\u003e (1886), Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's \u003cem\u003eIola Leroy\u003c\/em\u003e (1892), Hamlin Garland's \u003cem\u003eA Spoil of Office\u003c\/em\u003e (1892), Marjorie Shuler's \u003cem\u003eFor Rent--One Pedestal\u003c\/em\u003e (1917), Elizabeth Jordan's edited volume \u003cem\u003eThe Sturdy Oak\u003c\/em\u003e (1917), and Oreola Williams Haskell's \u003cem\u003eBanner Bearers: Tales of the Suffrage Campaigns\u003c\/em\u003e (1920).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough these works discredit many traditional notions about gender and inspire their readers to seek fairness and equality for many American women, they often simultaneously perpetuate discriminatory ideas about other marginalized groups. They not only privilege the experiences of white women but also rely on widespread anxieties about racial and ethnic minorities to demonstrate the need for gender reform. By focusing on such tensions between conventional and unconventional ideas about gender, race, and class, Petty shows how the fiction of this period helps to situate first-wave feminism within a larger historical and cultural context.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Leslie Petty\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 082035712X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780820357126\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Georgia Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/01\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.61d","brand":"Leslie Petty","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44059871805695,"sku":"9780820357126","price":30.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_d6966f2f-336d-49ad-ba79-4196e1857df4.jpg?v=1685060808","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/romancing-the-vote-leslie-petty-9780820357126","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}