{"product_id":"too-good-to-get-married-the-life-and-photographs-of-miss-alice-austen-9781531509507","title":"Too Good to Get Married: The Life and Photographs of Miss Alice Austen","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExplore Gilded Age New York through the lens of Alice Austen, who captured the social rituals of New York's leisured class and the bustling streets of the modern city. Celebrated as a queer artist, she was this and much more\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlice Austen (1866-1952) lived at Clear Comfort, her grandparent's Victorian cottage on Staten Island, which is now a National Historic Landmark. As a teenager, she devoted herself to photography, recording what she called \"the larky life\" of tennis matches, yacht races, and lavish parties. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen she was 25 and expected to marry, Austen used her camera to satirize gender norms by posing with her friends in their undergarments and in men's clothes, \"smoking\" cigarettes, and feigning drunkenness. As she later remarked, she was \"too good to get married.\" Austen embraced the rebellious spirit of the \"New Woman,\" a moniker given to those who defied expectations by pursuing athletics, higher education, or careers. She had romantic affairs with women, and at 31, she met Gertrude Tate, who became her life partner. Briefly, Austen considered becoming a professional photographer. She illustrated \u003ci\u003eBicycling for Ladies\u003c\/i\u003e, a guide written by her friend Violet Ward, and she explored the working-class neighborhoods of Manhattan to produce a portfolio, \"Street Types of New York.\" Rejecting the taint of commerce, however, she remained within the confines of elite society with Tate by her side. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlthough interest in Austen has accelerated since 2017, when the Alice Austen House was designated a national site of LGBTQ history, the only prior book on Austen was published in 1976. Copiously illustrated, \u003ci\u003eToo Good to Get Married \u003c\/i\u003efills the need for a fresh and deeply researched look at this skillful and witty photographer. Through analysis of Austen's photographs, Yochelson illuminates the history of American photography and the history of sexuality.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Fordham University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/03\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781531509507\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288","brand":"Bonnie Yochelson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45276404678837,"sku":"9781531509507","price":33.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_85522887-36c6-4956-a1fd-410923fcc749.jpg?v=1744123109","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/too-good-to-get-married-the-life-and-photographs-of-miss-alice-austen-9781531509507","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}