The sewing girl's tale : a story of crime and consequences in revolutionary America Cover Image

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

Sweet, John Wood, 1966- (author.).

Summary:

"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
Physical Description: 365 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), map ; 24 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 plot -- Gatekeepers -- Prosecutrix -- Closing arguments -- Outrage -- Seduction -- Recovery -- Epilogue.