{"product_id":"the-other-dixwells-authors-edition-thomas-n-layton-9781957402611","title":"The Other Dixwells (Author's Edition): Commerce and Conscience in an American Family","description":"\u003cp\u003eWho could have imagined that the Chinese opium trade, American feminism, and the abolitionist crusade could be connected, or that an entire branch of a prominent Boston commercial family could have been erased from the historic record for a century-and-a-half, or that a multi-decade saga to restore them to history would begin when archaeology students excavated Chinese potsherds from a Native American archaeological site atop a remote ridge on the north coast of California?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArchaeologist Tom Layton follows those potsherds to their origin on the 1850 shipwreck of the Frolic, a clipper brig, owned by American merchants who hauled opium from India to China. Those potsherds lead to George Dixwell-opium expert, inventor, and part owner of the Frolic-and to clues about his marriage in China to Hu Ts'ai-shun, a Manchu woman. Further research leads to the women of Dixwell's family tree who turned out to be writers and activists-aunt Judith Sargent Murray, the grandmother of American Feminism, and her niece Henrietta Sargent, a fierce abolitionist who reported the first public speech of an escaped slave-Frederick Douglass. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFinally the sherds lead Layton to Ts'ai-shun's four American great-granddaughters who had preserved a trove of letters, photos, and diaries that enabled this story to be told.Layton reveals his scientifically documented archaeological record then dons the hat of a novelist, filling in the spaces among the facts, bringing these characters to life, and producing an unforgettable read-a true adventure revealing the successes, failures, passions, and secrets of a 19th-century American family.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Thomas N. Layton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 195740261X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781957402611\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Society for Historical Archaeology\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/09\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 466\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.38lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 10.00h x 7.00w x 1.27d","brand":"Thomas N. Layton","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48800708264191,"sku":"9781957402611","price":65.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-other-dixwells-authors-edition-thomas-n-layton-9781957402611","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}