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by Leslie Denis (Author)
Two cousins, one a public icon and the other a private rebel, navigate the constraints of their Quaker upbringing to redefine what it means to be a "New Woman" in 20th-century America.
Susanna and Alice: Quaker Rebels presents a compelling dual narrative that contrasts public activism with a private search for personal identity:
- Public Icon vs. Private Rebel: The narrative provides a unique side-by-side study of Alice Paul, the famous suffragist and author of the Equal Rights Amendment, and her cousin Susanna Parry, whose quieter rebellion involved fighting societal norms and parental control to be with the woman she loved.
- A "New Woman" Perspective: Set during the Progressive Era, the book explores the emergence of the "New Woman"-educated, ambitious, and independent-as both cousins navigate the transition from Victorian constraints to 20th-century autonomy.
- Unpublished Primary Sources: The story is built upon a "motherload" of recently discovered family letters, postcards, and invitations that offer an intimate, firsthand look at the daily lives, youthful "marriages" between female roommates, and internal family dynamics of the era.
- The "Invisible" History of LGBTQ+ Identity: By documenting Susanna's intense "Boston marriage" and her struggle for self-expression, the book highlights the often-untold history of same-sex relationships within traditional Quaker communities at the turn of the century.
- Rich Historical Tapestry: Readers are immersed in the cultural shift of early 20th-century America, covering everything from the first transcontinental flights and the rise of muckraking journalism to the brutal reality of the suffrage movement's hunger strikes and forced feedings.
Amidst the burgeoning radicalism of the early 20th century, Susanna and Alice: Quaker Rebels captures the intersecting lives of two cousins as they navigate the transition from Victorian restraint to the autonomy of the "New Woman." While Alice Paul emerges as a public icon-an audacious suffragist who endured imprisonment and hunger strikes to secure the vote and author the Equal Rights Amendment-her cousin Susanna Parry wages a quieter, more intimate battle against societal norms.
The narrative is brought to life through a recently discovered "motherload" of family correspondence found in a dusty attic. These letters reveal the private yearnings of Susanna, an unknown "Quaker rebel" who struggled against parental control to maintain a "Boston marriage" with the woman she loved. Her story provides a rare, firsthand account of LGBTQ+ identity and female companionship within traditional Quaker communities at the turn of the century.
Spanning from the first transcontinental flights and the rise of muckraking journalism to the brutal realities of the suffrage movement, the book offers a rich historical tapestry of an era defined by scientific and social upheaval. In piecing together these "jigsaw pieces" of family history, Leslie Mulford Denis reveals how both women, in their own distinct ways, sacrificed personal safety and social standing to redefine what it meant to be free in America.
