The Belles of New England: The Women of the Textile Mills and the Families Whose Wealth They Wove |
Buy The Belles of New England: The Women of the Textile Mills and the Families Whose Wealth They Wove here, one of 563 Boston Tea Party books offered for sale at discount prices here in the history books section at R bookshop. There are currently 73966 history books in our history books section, and over 1,000,000 books listed in our book store. We greatly appreciate your patronage at R bookshop and look forward to offering you a large selection of great books at discount prices now and in the future. Thank you for shopping at R Bookshop!
|
You Are Here: Home > History Books > Boston Tea Party > Item 339
 |
The Belles of New England: The Women of the Textile Mills and the Families Whose Wealth They Wove
|
by William Moran
Sales Rank: 273175
|
List Price: $15.95
$10.85
At Amazon
on 6-20-2008.
|
|
|
|
Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 320 pages
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin March 4, 2004
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0312326009
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0312326005
Book Dimensions:
8.8 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
Weighs: 15.2 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
The huge, largely abandoned mill buildings of northern New England towns are the remnants of an industry that dominated the region and transformed the lives of its inhabitants, especially the women, for slightly more than a hundred years, beginning in the early 19th century. In broad, descriptive strokes, Moran, formerly a writer and producer for CBS News, recounts the rise and fall of the New England textile industry, from Francis Cabot Lowell's first 1814 mill in Waltham, Mass., to the flight South in the decades after WWI of mill owners seeking a haven from labor unions and the reasonable working conditions the unions had won. The enormous social changes wrought by the textile industry are the subject here, especially in the lives of women, whom it freed from servitude on the small farm only to bind them to the looms. Later, the mills' voracious appetite for workers attracted a vast influx of immigrants from Ireland, Quebec and eastern Europe, while generating enormous wealth for owners like the Cabots and the Lowells, who became the aristocracy of New England. The story of the mills as evoked here, with all its ironies, energy and tragedies, reflects the greater America these factories helped to shape. 16 pages of photographs unseen by PW.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
This is a history of the textile mills of New England, the women who worked them, the owners who ran them, and the environment both physical and social in which they operated. A popular history written in a folksy style, it leaves out the analysis a scholarly treatment would provide but offers citations and a bibliography to give it authenticity. Moran tells the stories of many of the largest mills (in Lowell, Lawrence, and Waltham, MA), from their founding by Boston Brahmins to their ultimate demise in the 20th century. The longest section of the book deals with Irish and French Canadian immigration to these mill towns and the desperate attempts by these immigrants to make a life in their new surroundings. Difficult relations with the Yankees, isolation and discrimination, anti-Catholic violence, and monstrous health and safety conditions prevailed, making for engaged yet troubling reading. Moran's narrative of the workers' attempts to improve their lot through labor organizing and strikes is especially good. Moran is not a historian but a CBS News producer and journalist, and this is distinctly not a book of professional history. The author makes unnecessary comments about modern social issues and tangents that lead well beyond the scope of the topic. But his book is an great read, both gripping and informative. Recommended for all public libraries. Bonnie Collier, Yale Law Lib.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Belles of New England: The Women of the Textile Mills and the Families Whose Wealth They Wove (Hardcover)
Very few books give enough credit, in my opinion, to the important role women played in the development of American society. French Canadian women are probably at the very end of a long line of feminist ethnic groups frequently overlooked for the formidable standard they set, later a prototype characterized by Rosie the Riveter during America's darkest days during the middle of the last century. The Belles of New England is a well researched history about the development of New England's dinosaur textile and shoe industries and how hard working immigrant women made moguls of their owners. Although the Franco-American woman were a large workforce in these now largely empty brick buildings, hopelessly stuck on the landscape of New England towns, they weren't the only ones to contribute to the industrial age success of these mega-industries. Still, Franco-American women were unusual. Largely from Quebec, they raised extraordinarily large families while working labor jobs to raise money for their extended families. Franco-Americans are different than other American ethnic melting pot varieties in that they could always go home again, to Canada, by train or by foot. But, they stayed, raised their families and contributed to the wealth of a few industrialists who probably never said thank you. So, author Bill Moran has said in "Belles" what the moguls couldn't even conceptualize if their lives depended on it to do so. Nice selection of historic photos, too. Moran gives long overdue credit to the women who helped make New England prosperous.
Comment | |
(Report this)
Back To Top
|
The Belles of New England: The Women of the Textile Mills and the Families Whose Wealth They Wove
Available from Amazon
Price: $10.85
Updated on 6-20-2008.
|
NOTICE: All prices, availability, and specifications
are subject to verification by their respective retailers.
| We offer The Belles of New England: The Women of the Textile Mills and the Families Whose Wealth They Wove and other related Boston Tea Party Books here at Rbookshop.com. To view more books about Boston Tea Party please use the previous and next buttons near the top of this page.
|
|
Search for books at
