Lydia Maria Child

The Quest for Racial Justice

Lori Kenschaft

Oxford Portraits

Shows how Child dramatically transformed from literary figure to antislavery activist.
Presents the life of the dynamic nineteenth-century writer who, through her pen and at great personal cost to her literary career, spoke out for those silenced in society -- slaves, Native Americans, women, and the poor.
A riveting look into how Child helped ignite the Abolitionist movement.

Lydia Maria Child

The Quest for Racial Justice

Lori Kenschaft

Description

Lydia Maria Child presents the life of the dynamic nineteenth-century writer who, through her pen and at great personal cost to her literary career, spoke out for those silenced in society -- slaves, Native Americans, women, and the poor. At the dawn of the 1830s, Lydia Maria Child was a celebrated author, known for her popular domestic handbook, The Frugal Housewife, and Hobomok, a novel of American Indian life. In 1833, with the publication of her controversial Appeal in Favor of that Class of Americans Called Africans, Child's life changed dramatically from literary figure to antislavery activist. Her Appeal helped ignite the abolitionist movement, and several antislavery leaders -- including Wendell Phillips and Charles Sumner -- credited it with converting them to the cause. An inspirational look at an extraordinary woman, Lydia Maria Child is the story of how one person fought for the basic human right of freedom -- for all.

Oxford Portraits are informative and insightful biographies of people whose lives shaped their times and continue to influence ours. Based on the most recent scholarship, they draw heavily on primary sources, including writings by and about their subjects. Each book is illustrated with a wealth of photographs, documents, memorabilia, framing the personality and achievements of its subject against the backdrop of history.

Lydia Maria Child

The Quest for Racial Justice

Lori Kenschaft

Oxford Portraits

Author Information

Lori Kenschaft is an American historian with a special interest in the history of social change. She has taught at Boston University and is currently teaching at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She earned her Ph.D in American Studies at Boston University.

Lydia Maria Child

The Quest for Racial Justice

Lori Kenschaft

Oxford Portraits

Reviews and Awards

A 2004 New York Public Library Books For the Teen Age selection!

"This addition to the Oxford Portraits series introduces a woman who is little know but immensely interesting....Kenschaft's well-written text, helped by black-and-white photographs and pictures and cartoons of the period, may entice students to read on; it captures both a woman and her times." -- Booklist

"Lydia Maria Child's life and accomplishments are outlined in this dense text....[Child's} literary achievements, rocky marriage, and bots with depression are portrayed honestly....Excerpts from Child's work and black-and-white reproductions will engage those who perservere." --The Horn Book Guide

"When people think of women writers leading the struggle for equality, most think of Harriet Beecher Stowe. But they should also think of Lydia Maria Child. A popular author of domestic handbooks, she made the decision in 1883 to write a 'scathing indictment of slavery'.... Lori Kenschaft tells the life story of America's first professional woman writer to speak out for Black slaves, American Indians, women, and the poor." -- NEA Today