Nineteenth Century America
Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy–and Anne Boyd Rioux
It’s the 150th anniversary of the publication of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and the legions of Alcott fans have plenty of ways to celebrate. PBS released an adaptation in May and at lease one new feature film adaptation is in the works.(1) A graphic novel that re-envisions the March sisters as a blended family…
Read More
Vivandières
If you’ve spent any time here on the Margins in recent years, you know I’ve been thinking about women warriors. One thing I’ve learned in the process is that women have always been a part of war, whether or not they picked up a weapon or led a charge. From the sixteenth through the mid-nineteenth…
Read More
Word with a Past: Gerrymander
If Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814) had played his cards right, he could have been a minor but respected figure in American history. He signed the Declaration of Independence, helped draft the Bill of Rights, served two terms in Congress, and was the fifth Vice President of the United States. His contemporaries thought him intelligent, gentlemanly,…
Read More