Dorothy Wickenden Libri

"Harriet Tubman--no-nonsense, funny, uncannily prescient, and strategically brilliant--was one of the most important conductors on the underground railroad and hid the enslaved men, women and children she rescued in the basement kitchens of Martha Wright, Quaker mother of seven, and Frances Seward, wife of Governor, then Senator, then Secretary of State William H. Seward. Harriet worked for the Union Army in South Carolina as a nurse and spy, and took part in a river raid in which 750 enslaved people were freed from rice plantations. Martha, a "dangerous woman" in the eyes of her neighbors and a harsh critic of Lincoln's policy on slavery, organized women's rights and abolitionist conventions with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Frances gave freedom seekers money and referrals and aided in their education. The most conventional of the three friends, she hid her radicalism in public; behind the scenes, she argued strenuously with her husband about the urgency of immediate abolition. Many of the most prominent figures in the history books--Lincoln, Seward, Daniel Webster, Frederick Douglass, Charles Sumner, John Brown, Harriet Beecher Stowe, William Lloyd Garrison--are seen through the discerning eyes of the protagonists. So are the most explosive political debates: about women's roles and rights during the abolition crusade, emancipation, and the arming of Black troops; and about the true meaning of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Beginning two decades before the Civil War, when Harriet Tubman was still enslaved and Martha and Frances were young women bound by law and tradition, The Agitators ends two decades after the war, in a radically changed United States. Wickenden brings this extraordinary period of our history to life through the richly detailed letters her characters wrote several times a week. Like Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals and David McCullough's John Adams, Wickenden's The Agitators is revelatory, riveting, and profoundly relevant to our own time"-- Provided by publisher

Harriet Tubman, strategically brilliant and uncannily prescient, rescued some seventy enslaved people from Maryland's Eastern Shore and shepherded them north along the underground railroad. In Auburn, New York, she entrusted passengers to Martha Coffin Wright, a Quaker abolitionist and leader of the women's rights movement, and Frances A. Seward, whose husband served as New York's governor and senator, and then as secretary of state under Abraham Lincoln. The Agitators opens in the 1820s, when Tubman is enslaved in Maryland and Wright and Seward are young homemakers in upstate New York, bound by law and tradition, and it ends after the Civil War. Many of the most prominent figures of the era-William H. Seward, Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Charles Sumner, John Brown, William Lloyd Garrison-are seen through the discerning eyes of the protagonists. So are the most explosive political debates: about the civil rights of African Americans and women, about the enlistment of Black troops, and about opposing interpretations of the Constitution. Wickenden traces the second American revolution these women fought to bring about and its lasting effects on the country. Profoundly relevant to our own time, The Agitators brings a vibrant, original voice to this transformative period in our history. Book jacket.

Set in 1916, this true story follows two affluent society girls who abandon their comfortable lives to become teachers in the rugged wilderness of Colorado. Their journey explores themes of adventure, resilience, and the transformative power of education as they navigate the challenges of a harsh environment and their own personal growth. The narrative highlights their struggles and triumphs, offering a unique glimpse into the lives of women seeking purpose beyond societal expectations.