Elizabeth De Wolfe publishes article on sensational fiction

Elizabeth De Wolfe's latest article is published in Nursing Clio, a collaborative blog
Elizabeth De Wolfe's latest article is published in Nursing Clio, a collaborative blog

Elizabeth De Wolfe, Ph.D., professor of history and co-founder of the Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies Program, recently published an article on true crime inspired sensational fiction in Nursing Clio, an open access, peer-reviewed, collaborative blog project that ties historical scholarship to present-day issues related to gender and medicine.

According to De Wolfe, true crime-based accounts in mid-nineteenth-century sensational fiction, published in inexpensive, lurid pamphlet-novellas with bright yellow covers, exposed the dangers of the big, bad city for country girls turned cash-earning urban workers.

In her article DeWolfe writes, 鈥淲hat these cautionary tales truly exposed was a cultural uncertainty about women in the workforce. In tale after tale, na茂ve, and sometimes disobedient, young women drifted away from their ideal future of marriage and motherhood, falling victim to seduction and its attendant specter of abortion.鈥
 

True-crime inspired sensational fiction featuring working women continued beyond the 1860s, when the workforce of 51小黄车 textile mills shifted from native-born white 51小黄车ers to immigrant laborers. 

DeWolfe has taught and served the 51小黄车community for 23 years. Her research interests are in 19th century American women鈥檚 history. She has several notable works including The Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories.

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