Keep the days : reading the Civil War diaries of Southern women / Steven M. Stowe.
"Americans wrote fiercely during the Civil War. War surprised, devastated, and opened up imagination, taking hold of Americans' words as well as their homes and families. The personal diary--wildly ragged yet rooted in day following day--was one place Americans wrote their war. Diaries, then, have become one of the best-known, most-used sources for exploring the life of the mind in a war-torn place and time. Delving into several familiar wartime diaries kept by women of the southern slave-owning class, Steven Stowe recaptures their motivations to keep the days close even as war tore apart the brutal system of slavery that had benefited them. Whether the diarists recorded thoughts about themselves, their opinions about men, or their observations about slavery, race, and warfare, Stowe shows how these women, by writing the immediate moment, found meaning in a changing world. In studying the inner lives of these unsympathetic characters, Stowe also explores the importance--and the limits--of historical empathy as a condition for knowing the past, demonstrating how these plain, first-draft texts can offer new ways to make sense of the world in which these Confederate women lived."--Publisher description.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781469640952
- ISBN: 1469640953
- ISBN: 9781469640969
- ISBN: 1469640961
- Physical Description: xxv, 199 pages ; 25 cm.
- Publisher: Chapel Hill : The University of North Carolina Press, [2018]
Content descriptions
- Bibliography, etc. Note:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-193) and index.
- Formatted Contents Note:
- Preface : words of war -- Cast of characters : the diarists -- Reading the diary -- Keeping the diary -- Wartime -- Men -- Slaves -- Herself -- Appendix : a guide to the diaries and diarists.
Search for related items by subject
- Subject:
- Women, White > Southern States > Diaries.
Slaveholders > Southern States > Diaries.
United States > History > Civil War, 1861-1865 > Women.
United States > History > Civil War, 1861-1865 > Historiography.
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Available copies
- 2 of 2 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at McDowell County Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 2 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion Library | 973.7082 STO (Text) | 37810435751358 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
