From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World Volume III
Infernos and Paradises: The Triumph of Capitalism in the 19th Century
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
From the New York Times–bestselling author: “A rare find: a page-turning, can’t-put-it-down history text.” —Library Journal
Writing about what she calls the “most cheering period in female history,” Marilyn French recounts how nineteenth-century women living under imperialism, industrialization, and capitalism nonetheless organized for their own education, a more equitable wage, and the vote.
Focusing on the United States, Great Britain, and countries in Africa, French argues that capitalism’s success depended on the exploitation and enslavement of huge numbers, including women, but the act of working outside the home alongside other women, rather than in isolation, provided women with the possibility of organizing for emancipation.
“The third volume of her remarkable four-volume survey . . . fascinating insight and detail.” —Publishers Weekly
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
IN THE THIRD VOLUME OF HER REMARKABLE FOUR-VOLUME SURVEY, FRENCH (THE WOMEN\x81FS ROOM) ILLUMINATES HOW THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION WORKED AGAINST WOMEN OVER THE COURSE OF THE 19TH CENTURY. FRENCH BEGINS WITH IMPERIALISM IN AFRICA, DOCUMENTING THE INTRODUCTION OF SLAVERY AND INDUSTRIALIZATION THAT WOULD DECIMATE TRADITIONAL AFRICAN SOCIETY\x81\INCLUDING ACTIVE AND POWERFUL POSITIONS TRADITIONALLY HELD BY WOMEN, WHO TODAY ARE STILL THREATENED BY THE SLAVE TRADE. IN EUROPE AND AMERICA, THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION OFFERED FOR MANY FAMILY-BOUND YOUNG WOMEN A CHANCE AT FREEDOM AND CAMARADERIE\x81\BUT ONLY THROUGH EXPLOITATIVE, DANGEROUS WORK IN POOR CONDITIONS AND FOR MENIAL PAY. EVEN THEN, THE PATRIARCHIC SOCIETY WORKED TO KEEP WOMEN AND CHILDREN FROM ANY KIND OF ECONOMIC OR POLITICAL FREEDOM. AT THE SAME TIME, OPPRESSION ONLY DROVE FEMALE WORKERS CLOSER TOGETHER; WITH FELLOW SUFFERING CAME ORGANIZATION, STRENGTH AND ULTIMATELY A PUSH FOR LABOR REFORM AND WOMEN\x81FS RIGHTS. FRENCH\x81FS WELL-RESEARCHED ACCOUNT SPANS THE GLOBE AND OFFERS FASCINATING INSIGHT AND DETAIL; UNFORTUNATELY, IT LOSES STEAM AS IT PROGRESSES, CRUISING THROUGH THE LABOR AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS MOVEMENTS IN TYPICAL TEXTBOOK FASHION.
