One of the most celebrated women of her time, Anna Elizabeth Dickinson was a charismatic orator, writer, and actress, who rose to fame during the Civil War and remained in the public eye for the next three decades. This book offers a full-length biography of Dickinson. The book describes how Dickinson's passionate patriotism and fiery style, coupled with her abolitionism and biting critiques of anti-war Democrats struck a nerve with her audiences. In barely two years, she rose from being an unknown young Philadelphia radical, to becoming a successful New England stump speaker and eventually a ... More

One of the most celebrated women of her time, Anna Elizabeth Dickinson was a charismatic orator, writer, and actress, who rose to fame during the Civil War and remained in the public eye for the next three decades. This book offers a full-length biography of Dickinson. The book describes how Dickinson's passionate patriotism and fiery style, coupled with her abolitionism and biting critiques of anti-war Democrats struck a nerve with her audiences. In barely two years, she rose from being an unknown young Philadelphia radical, to becoming a successful New England stump speaker and eventually a national celebrity. At the height of her fame, Dickinson counted many of the nation's leading reformers, authors, politicians, and actors among her friends. Among the famous figures who populate this book are Susan B. Anthony, Whitelaw Reid, William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book explores Dickinson's public triumphs but also discloses how, as her public career waned, she battled with her managers, critics, audiences, and family. The book demonstrates how Dickinson's life illustrates the possibilities and barriers faced by 19th-century women, revealing how their behavior could at once be seen as worthy, highly valued, shocking, and deviant.