3 Review(s)

One of the earliest documentary novels, Fall River recounts the famous murder of a mill girl and the subsequent trial of a popular minister of the period. Compellingly written, it is not only a record of a sensational story of its times, but also a revealing embodiment of the social and cultural climate of early nineteenth century industrial America. The book is also an important landmark in the history of religion in American popular culture, with detailed descriptions of religious camp meetings in New England. Williams was urged by her readers to compose her account of these events, in order to correct what she called the "indecent manner" in which they had hitherto been reported. (David Kasserman's recent widely acclaimed sociological study Fall River Outrage is based on the events Williams describes.) This unprecedented new series reintroduces women's writings of cultural and literary interest, from the Medieval period through the early nineteenth century, often for the first time since their original publication. Derived from the Brown University Women Writers Project, the series unearths a wide range of neglected gems, dispelling the myth that women wrote little of real value before the Victorian period. Each volume includes an introduction putting the work in its historical and literary context and helpful explanatory notes.