This impressively researched book tells the important but little-known story of elite southern white women's successful quest for a measure of self-reliance and independence between antebellum strictures and the restored patriarchy of Jim Crow. Profusely illustrated with the experiences of fascinating women in Virginia and North Carolina, it presents a compelling new chapter in the history of American women and of the South. As were many ideas, notions of the ideal woman were in flux after the Civil War. While poverty added a harder edge to the search for a good marriage among some "southern belles," other privileged white women forged identities that challenged the belle model altogether. Their private and public writings from the 1870s and 1880s suggest a widespread ethic of autonomy. Sometimes that meant increased domestic skills born of the new reality of fewer servants. But women also owned and transmitted property, worked for pay, and even pursued long-term careers. Many found a voice in a plethora of new voluntary organizations, and some southern women attained national celebrity in the literary world, creating strong and capable heroines and mirroring an evolving view toward northern society. Yet even as elite southern women experimented with their roles, external forces and contradictions within their position were making their unprecedented attitudes and achievements socially untenable. During the 1890s, however, virulent racism and pressures to re-create a mythic South left these women caught between the revived image of the southern belle and the emerging emancipated woman. Just as the memoirs of southern white women have been key to understanding life during the Civil War, the writings of such women unlock the years of dramatic change that followed. Informed by myriad primary documents, Jane Turner Censer immerses us in the world of postwar southern women as they rethought and rebuilt themselves, their families, and their region during a brief but important period of relative freedom.

"Fairfax Or The Master Of Greenway Court: A Chronicle Of The Valley Of The Shenandoah is a historical novel by American author John Esten Cooke. Set in the late 18th century, the book tells the story of Thomas Fairfax, the sixth Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who inherits a vast estate in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The novel follows Fairfax's struggles to maintain his land and his way of life in the face of encroaching settlers and the looming threat of the American Revolution. Along the way, Fairfax encounters a cast of colorful characters, including Native Americans, frontiersmen, and British soldiers. The book is notable for its vivid descriptions of life in colonial Virginia and its portrayal of the conflicts between different cultures and classes in the region. Written in a style that blends historical accuracy with fictional storytelling, Fairfax Or The Master Of Greenway Court is a compelling and insightful look at a pivotal moment in American history."--Amazon.com.

Few books about George Washington treat exclusively his western interests and activities. As these interests were extensive and admittedly determining factors in his career as a soldier, the present volume offers a much needed picture of this phase of Washington's life. The author offers substantial evidence to refute the charges that Washington's interests were predominantly selfish, because of his large holdings in the West, and calls to mind that in statesmanship Washington is seen at his best in his efforts to unite the East and West. Originally published in 1936. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

In this major reconsideration of a regional consciousness, Richard Gray explores how generations of southerners have been engaged in "writing the South", in reinventing their place even as they describe it. "Humane and learned, informative and analytical, WRITING THE SOUTH is a most impressive addition to cultural inquiry".--THE LISTENER. 12 photos.