The Great Divorce: A Nineteenth-Century Mother's Extraordinary Fight Against Her Husband, the Shakers, and Her Times

Ilyon Woo's The Great Divorce is a dramatic, richly textured narrative history of early America's most infamous divorce case. A young mother singlehandedly challenged her country's notions of women's rights, family, and marriage itself--all in a bid to win back her kidnapped children from the celibate, religious sect known as the Shakers. Pulling together the pieces of this saga from crumbled newspapers, Shaker diaries, and long-forgotten letters, Woo delivers the first full account of Eunice Chapman's epic five-year struggle. A moving story about the power of a mother's love, The Great Divorce is also a memorable portrait of a rousing challenge to the values of a young nation.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Grove Press
Published: 08/16/2011
ISBN: 9780802145376
Pages: 404
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 1.20d

Review Citations: New York Times Book Review 10/02/2011 pg. 32