The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe
A Biography
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- 12,99 €
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- 12,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
A “lively biography” (The New Yorker) of Julia Ward Howe, the powerful feminist pioneer and author of the Civil War anthem, “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Julia Ward (1819–1910) was an heiress who married a handsome accomplished doctor who worked with the blind and deaf. But Samuel Howe wasted her inheritance, mistreated and belittled her, and tried to stifle her intellect and freedom. Nevertheless Julia persisted and wrote poetry and a mildly shocking sexual novel that was published to good reviews. She also wrote the words to probably the most famous anthem in the country’s history—the Civil War anthem, “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
After Samuel died when she was fifty-one, Julia lived another forty years as a dynamic, tireless, and successful activist for women’s rights, pacifism, and social reform. She became a groundbreaking figure in the abolitionist and suffrage movements, and a successful author and lecturer who fought her own battle for creative freedom and independence. In the “riveting” (The New York Times Book Review), “unfailingly vivid” (The Atlantic) and “invigorating” (O, The Oprah Magazine) The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe, esteemed author Elaine Showalter tells the story of Howe’s determined self-creation and brings to life the society she inhabited and the obstacles she overcame. The Civil War challenged nineteenth-century ideas of separate spheres for men and women. In Howe’s case, this transformation led to a rebellion against her marriage. She fought a second Civil War at home and discovered ways to combine domestic chores with creativity and politics, and she helped establish Mother’s Day to honor women and to recruit them to her causes. “A biography with the verve and pace of a delicious novel…Showalter reveals the entwining of Howe’s public and private lives, as she righteously battled her husband and society, and finally saw the glory she always believed she deserved” (The Boston Globe).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this flowing narrative, Showalter (A Jury of Her Peers), emeritus professor of English at Princeton University, examines the life of Julia Ward (1819 1910) and her marriage to Samuel Gridley Howe (1801 1876) in the context of 19th-century America. Julia Ward Howe is often portrayed as the matronly lyricist of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," but her early reputation as a beautiful young talent earned her the nickname of Diva. Howe's need for attention and difficult personality resulted in a tumultuous relationship with her equally needy and impressive husband, a hero of the Greek Revolution who later founded the Perkins School for the Blind. Showalter argues that the Howes' marriage superficially mirrors the American Civil War, with Howe fighting for her right to write poetry and study philosophy, and losing battles over where she lived and how many children she bore. Nearing 50 and unsuccessful with her speaking engagements, Howe joined the suffrage movement, earning Showalter's designation as a major American heroine. Showalter skillfully reveals the depths of Howe's pain and talent, though she gives only cursory historical context for the abolitionist's racist comments. Nevertheless, Howe's resilience and success in light of her family's efforts to thwart her ambition make her worthy of Showalter's admiring biography.