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📘 Book History
The Woman’s Story is a remarkable anthology in the history of American women’s literature. It includes short works—fiction, sketches, and reflective pieces—written by twenty well-known women authors of the late 19th century.
Notable contributors include:
Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Lot)
Louisa May Alcott (Transcendental Wild Oats)
Rebecca Harding Davis
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
Rose Terry Cooke
Others widely published in the Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, and leading periodicals
Laura C. Holloway, the compiler, was a respected journalist and biographer whose works highlighted women’s contributions to public life (The Ladies of the White House, etc.).
The anthology was intended to show the representative voice of American women writers, illustrating themes of:
Domestic life
Social reform
Religious and philosophical ideals
Regional character
Women’s lived experiences
Its most historically significant inclusion is Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Lot,” a precursor to themes she developed in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
📚 Description of Contents
Your edition includes:
Preface by Holloway explaining the purpose of the anthology
Full texts of twenty literary pieces by major American women authors
Portraits and/or biographical sketches (as stated on the title page—though illustrations were not photographed)
Decorative title page
High Victorian typography typical of 1880s American book design
Prominent inclusion of Stowe’s “Uncle Lot”
Many copies originally included portrait engravings; survival varies by book.
📦 Physical Condition
Covers
Red cloth with black stamped ornamental border
Gilt title remains bright
Board edges show rubbing
Small abrasion on front board
Spine ends bumped and frayed lightly
Overall shelf wear consistent with 135-year-old cloth binding
No dust jacket issued
Interior
Mild foxing on title and end pages
Slight age toning throughout
Pages otherwise clean and unmarked
Binding appears tight
No significant tears beyond usual age-related fragility
Overall condition: Good for its age; solid, attractive copy.
⭐ Special Features
First edition / first printing (1889)
Includes work by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Louisa May Alcott
Gilt and stamped decorative Victorian binding
Important anthology in American women’s literary history
Scarcer than most Alden imprints due to subject matter and authorship
An appealing collectible for feminist literature, 19th-century American fiction, and Stowe/Alcott collectors
