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The sewing girl's tale : a story of crime and consequences in Revolutionary America / John Wood Sweet.

Summary:
"A riveting historical drama that tells the story of the first rape trial on record in American history and the fault lines of class privilege and gender bias that it exposed, showing how much has changed over two centuries and how much has not"-- Provided by publisher.
Summer, 1793. A crime was committed in the back room of a New York brothel-- the kind of crime that even victims usually kept secret. Instead, seventeen-year-old seamstress Lanah Sawyer charged a gentleman with rape. Her accusation sparked a raw courtroom drama and a relentless struggle for vindication that threatened both Lanah's and her assailant's lives. The trial exposed a predatory sexual underworld, sparked riots in the streets, and ignited a vigorous debate about class privilege and sexual double standards. Sweet takes us from a chance encounter in the street, and shows that if our laws and our culture were changed by a persistent young woman and the power of words two hundred years ago, they can be changed again. - adapted from jacket

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781250761965
  • ISBN: 1250761964
  • Physical Description: 365 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), map ; 25 cm
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2022.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-347) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Prologue -- Rescue -- Mother Carey -- Daylight -- The rake -- The pilot -- Gatekeepers -- The Prosecutrix -- Closing arguments -- Outrage -- Seduction -- Recovery -- Epilogue.
Subject: Bedlow, Henry, 1767-1838 > Trials, litigation, etc.
Trials (Rape) > New York (State) > New York > History > 18th century.
Sawyer, Lanah, approximately 1776-
Rape > Social aspects > New York (State) > New York > History > 18th century.
Genre: True crime stories.

Available copies

  • 17 of 19 copies available at SPARK Libraries.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 19 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Abington Community Library 345.73 SWEET (Text) 50687011785915 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Altoona Area Public Library 345.7302 SWE (Text) 33240004729839 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Cambria County Library 345.73 S974s (Text) 85131001833715 CACM Non-Fiction Available -
Dillsburg Area Public Library Adults 345.7 SWE Nonfiction (Text) 34001001419777 Adult Area Available -
Dover Area Community Library Adults 345.73 SWE Nonfiction (Text) 34217000894519 Adult Area Available -
Emmaus Public Library 345.73 SWEE (Text) 36446002070889 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Gettysburg Library 345.73 SWEET (Text)
Endowment: Joan T. Crapster Named Endowment, 2022
35740635862196 Nonfiction Available -
Indian Valley Public Library 345.73 Sweet History (Text) 39427103667184 Nonfiction Room: Adult Nonfiction Available -
Mason-Dixon Public Library Adults 345.73 SWE Nonfiction (Text) 34262000779252 Main Room Available -
Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity 345.73 SWE 2022 (Text) 31001101860816 Adult Non Fiction Available -


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