Letters from New-York

by Lydia Maria Child, Bruce Mills

Overview

Prominent author and abolitionist Lydia Maria Child began writing her "letters" from New York in August 1841 as a response to the troubling realities marking her private and public life. In particular, she was preoccupied by her editorial duties at the National Anti-Slavery Standard and dismayed by the growing sectarian spirit of antislavery reform. Collected primarily from the pages of the Standard, her literary essays on women's rights, the preaching of African American minister Julia Pell, the Crosby Street Synagogue, animal magnetism, the engineering miracle of Croton Aqueduct, and countless other people, topics, and events capture the breathless and sometimes unsettling transformation of one representative hub of national life.In his general introduction and annotation of the text, Bruce Mills reconstructs the biographical and cultural context surrounding the book's publication and documents substantive changes between the Standard's version of the letters and the book form. This edition also includes ten letters that Child chose to omit from earlier editions, including essays on the farewell gathering for the Amistad captives at the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and the near lynching of British abolitionist George Thompson.

Long considered among Child's best writing, Letters from New-York still captivates readers with its moving descriptions of enduring cultural realities. It offers readers a telling glimpse of New York as an emerging urban center and is an invaluable addition to the library of American literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780820320779
Publisher:	University of Georgia Press
Publication date:	11/01/1998
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

LYDIA MARIA CHILD (1802–1880) was an author, abolitionist, suffragist, and pioneer in children's education.

BRUCE MILLS is an associate professor of English at Kalamazoo College.

Lydia Maria Child (Author)
LYDIA MARIA CHILD (1802–1880) was an author, abolitionist, suffragist, and pioneer in children's education.

Bruce Mills (Editor)
BRUCE MILLS is an associate professor of English at Kalamazoo College.

Editorial Reviews

In Letters from New-York Child develops a voice that is personal, conversational, and frank. Her concern for social justice is clearly in evidence. . . . The Letters are among Child's very best work.

coeditor of American Women Regionalists: A Norton Anthology - Judith Fetterly

Letters from New-York is a valuable contribution to American literary history.

coeditor of The Selected Letters of Louisa May Alcott - Joel Myerson

"In Letters from New-York Child develops a voice that is personal, conversational, and frank. Her concern for social justice is clearly in evidence. . . . The Letters are among Child's very best work."--Judith Fetterly, coeditor of American Women Regionalists: A Norton Anthology

"Letters from New-York is a valuable contribution to American literary history."--Joel Myerson, coeditor of The Selected Letters of Louisa May Alcott

From the Publisher

...[Evokes] a city that may seem both familiar and foreign....Child deserves admiration for her attempt to expand her own world and the world of her readers.
— The New York Times Book Review

Beverly Gage