Danger to the Minds of Young Girls: Margaret C. Anderson, Book Bans, and the Fight to Modernize Literature
Danger to the Minds of Young Girls: Margaret C. Anderson, Book Bans, and the Fight to Modernize Literature
Danger to the Minds of Young Girls: Margaret C. Anderson, Book Bans, and the Fight to Modernize Literature
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Description
Description
"Wholly transportive and spellbinding. I was beguiled." --Ling Ma, bestselling author of Severance and Bliss Montage "A fascinating account of a remarkable woman dangerously ahead of her time." --Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians "Exquisitely researched, deeply felt, and poignant. This one belongs on your shelf." --Sarah Rose Etter, author of Ripe The life and times of literary pioneer and queer icon Margaret C. Anderson, who risked everything to be the first to publish James Joyce's Ulysses in America. Perfect for fans of The Editor, Flapper, and Nasty Women. Already under fire for publishing the literary avant-garde into a world not ready for it, Margaret C. Anderson's cutting-edge magazine The Little Review was a bastion of progressive politics and boundary-pushing writing from then-unknowns like T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, William Butler Yeats, and Djuna Barnes. And as its publisher, Anderson was a target. From Chicago to New York and Paris, this fearless agitator helmed a woman-led publication that pushed American culture forward and challenged the sensibilities of early 20th century Americans dismayed by its salacious writing and advocacy for supposed extremism like women's suffrage, access to birth control, and LBGTQ rights. But then it went too far. In 1921, Anderson found herself on trial and labeled "a danger to the minds of young girls" by a government seeking to shut her down. Guilty of having serialized James Joyce's masterpiece Ulysses in her magazine, Anderson was now not just a publisher but also a scapegoat for regressives seeking to impose their will on a world on the brink of modernization. Author, journalist, and literary critic Adam Morgan brings Anderson and her journal to life anew in A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls, capturing a moment of cultural acceleration and backlash all too familiar today while shining light on an unsung heroine of American arts and letters. Bringing a fresh eye to a woman and a movement misunderstood in their time, this biography highlights a feminist counterculture that audaciously pushed for more during a time of extreme social conservatism and changed the face of American literature and culture forever.
About the Author
About the Author
Adam Morgan is a culture journalist and critic who lives near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His writing regularly appears in Esquire, and has also been published in The Paris Review, Scientific American, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and more. He spent a decade in Chicago, during which time he founded the Chicago Review of Books and covered the city's arts and culture for Chicago magazine and the Chicago Reader.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"An exhilarating portrait of a woman whose battle matters now just as much as it did in 1921. Exquisitely researched, deeply felt, and poignant. This one belongs on your shelf."
--Sarah Rose Etter, author of Ripe and The Book of X "Adam Morgan is a stylish storyteller, bringing to glorious life the woman who fought censorship to modernize American literature. A riveting tale of both a person and a movement."
--Audrey Clare Farley, author of The Unfit Heiress "Readers will savor this enlightening depiction of a little-discussed but influential figure of both modernism and queer history."
--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) "A fascinating account of a remarkable woman dangerously ahead of her time. Margaret C. Anderson championed the most scandalous writers and thinkers whom we hold dear as literary geniuses today, and her story is more important now than ever before."
--Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians "[Anderson's] reputation endures as 'a politically radical lesbian' and champion of modernism. A lively biography of a bold woman."
--Kirkus "A fresh and much-needed account of the modernist visionary who gambled everything on beauty--and lost. Morgan captures the hopes, ambitions, feuds, and foibles of the American avant-garde with exceptional care and clarity on matters that still hold great relevance, such as the nature of censorship, community building, and artistic innovation."
--Rebecca Romney, author of Jane Austen's Bookshelf "A fast-paced, gripping story that captures the tensions between the fiercely independent, strong-willed Margaret Anderson and the limited societal roles to which women were expected to adhere. An exhilarating homage to all who have lived life by their own terms."
--Michelle Duster, author of Ida B. the Queen "Adam Morgan's wise and generous biography is wholly transportive and spellbinding. I was beguiled."
--Ling Ma, bestselling author of Severance and Bliss Montage
--Sarah Rose Etter, author of Ripe and The Book of X "Adam Morgan is a stylish storyteller, bringing to glorious life the woman who fought censorship to modernize American literature. A riveting tale of both a person and a movement."
--Audrey Clare Farley, author of The Unfit Heiress "Readers will savor this enlightening depiction of a little-discussed but influential figure of both modernism and queer history."
--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) "A fascinating account of a remarkable woman dangerously ahead of her time. Margaret C. Anderson championed the most scandalous writers and thinkers whom we hold dear as literary geniuses today, and her story is more important now than ever before."
--Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians "[Anderson's] reputation endures as 'a politically radical lesbian' and champion of modernism. A lively biography of a bold woman."
--Kirkus "A fresh and much-needed account of the modernist visionary who gambled everything on beauty--and lost. Morgan captures the hopes, ambitions, feuds, and foibles of the American avant-garde with exceptional care and clarity on matters that still hold great relevance, such as the nature of censorship, community building, and artistic innovation."
--Rebecca Romney, author of Jane Austen's Bookshelf "A fast-paced, gripping story that captures the tensions between the fiercely independent, strong-willed Margaret Anderson and the limited societal roles to which women were expected to adhere. An exhilarating homage to all who have lived life by their own terms."
--Michelle Duster, author of Ida B. the Queen "Adam Morgan's wise and generous biography is wholly transportive and spellbinding. I was beguiled."
--Ling Ma, bestselling author of Severance and Bliss Montage
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
Publisher:
Atria/One Signal Publishers
Pub date:
2025-12-09
Length:
288 pages
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