The Grimke Sisters from South Carolina: Pioneers for Woman's Rights and Abolition [Paperback]

Gerda Lerner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 26, 1998

The only Southern white women ever to become leading abolitionists, Sarah and Angelina Grimk� encountered many obstacles and leapt many hurdles in pursuing their anti-slavery work. Their greatest accomplishment was overcoming the ubiquitous prejudices of society in regard to women. Indeed, they were the first women to take to the public platform and the first to assert women's rights. In The Grimk� Sisters from South Carolina, Gerda Lerner, herself a leading historian and pioneer in women's studies, tells the compelling history of these determined sisters and the inroads they made for women and blacks alike. From their wealthy upbringing in Charleston, South Carolina, the societal restraints that kept them from higher education, and their utter contempt of slavery, to their conversion to the Quaker religion, and monumental achievements at the podium and with the pen, Lerner illuminates the lasting contributions of the Grimk� sisters, as well as the important role played by women in the anti-slavery movement.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[A]dmirably researched and flawlessly told....Mrs. Lerner has written a book she can be proud of."--Washington Star

"Gerda Lerners book shows the unusual combination of warmth and historical scholarship that we all look for and don't often find."--Robert Coles

"It is good to know that at last the story of two of the most remarkable women in American history is fully and sensitively told."--Carl Degler

From the Inside Flap

This revised and expanded edition of Lerner's biography of Angelina and Sarah Grimke includes two new primary documents and an additional essay by Lerner. In a revised introduction Lerner reinterprets her own work nearly forty years later and gives new recognition to the major significance of Sarah Grimke's feminist writings. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 382 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 26, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195106032
• ISBN-13: 978-0195106039
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,954,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended read, December 30, 1999

By 

Tina M. Horn "Alex's Mommy" (Columbia, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grimke Sisters from South Carolina: Pioneers for Woman's Rights and Abolition (Paperback)

I read an earlier (1970-something?) publication of this work, and really enjoyed it. The sisters were presented as powerful thinkers who struggled with the issues of their day. The title is right on, they were pioneers for women's rights, as well as influential abolitionists. I'm glad that they were presented as whole people, with doubts and questions and problems, too.

It was an easy ready, but I didn't feel like the author was talking down to me. The book is highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True American Pioneers, April 15, 2009

By 

Sean Mulligan (Alpharetta, Georgia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Grimke Sisters from South Carolina: Pioneers for Women's Rights and Abolition (Paperback)

The Grimke Sisters rather then the European-American settlers in the West were the true pioneers of 19th Century America. They were ahead of their peers in supporting reform causes such as Abolitionism, Women's Rights and opposing racial prejudice. The last one was especially significant since many white abolitionists were prejudiced toward blacks even though they opposed slavery.

What is especially remarkable about the Grimke Sisters is that they were among the very few white abolitionists who grew up in the Deep South. They were from South Carolina and their cousin was Robert Rhett the famous fire eater.

The book examines how their religious beliefs shaped their political views and their involvement in factional struggles in the Quaker Church and the Abolition movement.

4.0 out of 5 stars The gutsy Grimke sisters, November 8, 2011

By 

Lu Ann W. Darling (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Grimke Sisters from South Carolina: Pioneers for Women's Rights and Abolition (Paperback)

The Grimke sisters were indeed gutsy; southern born women who rebelled against slavery and took to the northern hustings to make their case. Gerda Lerner has done a splendid job of mapping their story.

Later I found they were not the only ones in the Grimke family to rebel against "that peculiar institution". Mark Perry's book Lift Up Thy Voice, should be a companion piece, because the sisters had two mulatto nephews they helped educate and who also became abolitionists.