Product Details
Life in the Iron Mills (Bedford Cultural Editions)

Life in the Iron Mills (Bedford Cultural Editions)
By Rebecca Harding Davis

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Product Description

This edition reprints the text of Rebecca Harding Davis's Life in the Iron Mills together with a broad selection of thematically arranged historical and cultural documents that open up the novella to the consideration of a range of social and cultural issues vital to Davis's ninteenth century. Special attention is given to nineteenth century American discussions of work and social class, moral and social reform, the development of American art and industry, and the position of the woman writer. A general introduction providing historical and cultural background, a chronology of Davis's life and times, an introduction to each thematic group of documents, headnotes, extensive annotations, a generous selection of illustrations, and a selected bibliography make this volume the definitive scholarly edition of this classic work of industrial fiction.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #292571 in Books
  • Published on: 1997-08-15
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 435 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
American short-story writer, essayist and novelist. Davis is remembered for her criticism of industrial capitalism and revelation of its harsher side in her writings.

Customer Reviews

Clarifying View of the early Twentieth Century4
I probably would have never picked this book up if I didn't have to read it for my writing class. But once I got through the introduction which was a little slow but informative I really enjoyed the rest of the book. The first story Life in the Iron Mills, in my opinion is an excellent description of what life must have been like for poor people in a iron factory town. If you like to read factual stories about the early twentieth century this is a must read for you. I hope that you get as much out of it as I have.

Harsh criticism mollified with traditional urbanity3
Davis's writing presents some problems. She masterfully details the harshness of factory labor and the consumption of the lives of workers brought about by the American industrialization and the advent of mass production in the nineteenth century, and the importance of this feat lies in the fact that she represented unwelcome immigrants to an audience otherwise unaware of the occurences detailed in her work. What I find trying about Davis's writing is her condescension to the subject, detailed in her introductory paragraphs which exemplify the distance between her as author and the characters that she details. The "birds-eye-view" represented in Davis's novel seems largely based on the moral superiority of the author, as she states disapproval of the actions of her protagonist(s), and assumes an air of moral and religious superiority. Perhaps I place too much emphasis on this aspect of her writing, but this is nonetheless an important aspect of this piece of social criticism, as Davis appeases an assumedly uninterested if not volatile audience by separating herself from the subject at hand. Both an accomplishment and a detriment to the purpose of this work, and ultimately problematic or even enigmatic.

Also important are the cultural backgrounds provided in this edition. Interviews with labor organizers and female factory workers, selections of legislation, writings by journalists. All very interesting, and all add greatly to the experience of reading Life in the Iron Mills and contextualizing the novel historically.