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Sunday, February 01, 2009

More Odd Books

More odd and interesting books that I've collected over the years.

The Owen book was one of many that I bought in a box for $2.00 in a yard sale in the early 70's when I lived in Paradise. I have a lot of other interesting books of a similar time period from this great find. Ah yard sales!! The junk, the treasures.

Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World. 1860 R D Owen


Spiritualism.







From Wikkipedia: "Robert Dale Owen (November 7, 1801June 24, 1877) was a longtime exponent in his adopted United States of the socialist doctrines of his father, the Welshman Robert Owen, as well as a politician in the Democratic Party.
Born in
Glasgow, Scotland, Owen emigrated to the United States in 1825, and helped his father create the Utopian community of New Harmony, Indiana. After the community failed........"


As socialism always will fail.


Owen became a politician and was actually quite progressive for the time "was instrumental in securing to widows and married women control of their property, and the adoption of a common free school system. He later succeeded in passing a state law giving greater freedom in divorce"


I've tried to read the book, but just can't get past the flowery language that was used at the time.


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Eve's Daughters 1882 Marion Harland



Probably one of the first seimi-feminist books. She had the unorthodox ideas that exercise and the outdoors were not completely unsuitable for the young woman. Although she didn't consider herself a "feminist" (who did? ...the word hadn't been invented then) I believe she was a pioneer for women.
She wrote a slew of other books on domesticity, cooking and household management.

1 comment:

  1. Aha! Louisa May Alcott was even earlier, with not just the Little Women books, but also with Eight Cousins (1875) and A Rose in Bloom (1876). I guess you might call her a hemi-demi-semi-feminist.

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