Learning to Stand and Speak: Women, Education, and Public Life in America's Republic (Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Virginia)
"In crisp and often elegant writing, [Kelley] ensures that, because of the indelible and finely etched image of learned women she provides, they will not soon be forgotten agaom."--Journal of American Studies"Offers fresh and significant insights into literature and literacy, education and social identity, region and nation, gender and access to learning among American women of earlier eras."--Legacy"A landmark publication in American women's history. . . . Will guide scholarship on early America's free women and learning for years to come."--William and Mary Quarterly"A detailed analysis of the relationship between education and women's participation in civil society. . . .Best utilized in a course examining the historic relationship between women's education and women's participation in public life."--Feminist Teacher"A fresh interpretation of the place of education, reading, and voluntary association in American women's lives between the Revolution and the Civil War."--New England Quarterly"Ambitious and fascinating. . . . Women's voices are vibrantly present."--Journal of American History"[Kelley's] analysis reflects the nuanced reading that is necessary when employing literary discourse for historical explanation. The volume adds considerably to the historiography on American women, education, and politics."--Journal of the Early Republic"This book fills an important gap in the historiography. Kelley has provided a wealth of detail about this lost world of educated women, which had a lasting impact on defining women's cultural authority in American society."--American Historical Review"The book's greatest strength is its archival depth and breadth. . . . Presents an impressive number of examples drawn from the experiences of women across seven decades and at least a dozen states. . . . An important resource for all historians of gender, education or print culture in early republic and antebellum America."--Common-Place"This superb book persuasively and gracefully makes the case that education . . . was the decisive factor propelling women's entrance into the public sphere during the nineteenth century. . . . Deserves the widest possible readership."--The Historian"Elegant. . . . Kelley has drawn from a vast array of sources, crossing regional and racial lines, to produce a meticulous argument. Her story explains rather that valorizes."--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society"[An] innovative and meticulously researched book."--American Antiquarian Society Newsletter"A treasure trove of stories about famous and obscure women who cherished learning, books, and, especially, the opportunity to exchange ideas with other women. "--The North Carolina Historical Review"A work of serious scholarship. . . . An inspiring contribution to the story of women's quiet success in asserting their intellectual and social value."--Roanoke Times