Emma
Goldman's reputation during her lifetime was in part
created by her incorrectly assumed connection with
the assassination of President Mc Kinley, and by a
young ambitious J. Edgar Hoover. By 1919, the soon to
be deported Goldman was known as "the most
dangerous woman in America." After her death in
1940 it has been her biographers who have continued
expanding Goldman's reputation, seeing her as
"heroic" and "iconic," some have
even gone so far as to describe her as a "cult
figure."
All
modern work on Goldman has included major references
to her autobiography, Living My Life, this book
re-examines the creation of this autobiography, first
practically noting just how many other people were
involved in creating this project: Theodore Dreiser's
Sister Carrie provided the blue print for the
beginning of Goldman's story, Demi Coleman, as
Goldman' secretary was a major part of the daily
writing process, while Alexander Berkman was not just
influential as an editor of her work, he was also
instrumental in insuring his anarchist agenda was
followed. These people are vital as Goldman's work
needs to be seen not as an autobiography, and
objective historical tool, but instead as a much
influenced and highly censored source. It was another
creation of Goldman.
To
achieve a closer look at the many created versions of
Goldman, this book uses visual and written sources to
identify how Goldman was shown to the American public
and to see literally how these images softened and
changed over the years.
Table of Contents
C.
BRID NICHOLSON is Assistant Professor of History at
Kean University in Union, New Jersey. She has written
numerous articles for various journals, and has
contributed chapters to a number of books including
Heart of the City: Catholics in New York, 1806-1947,
Museum of City of New York, forthcoming 2008.
208
pages, 5.5x8.5, 18 photos & drawings,
bibliography, index
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-55164-326-7 $19.99
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-55164-327-4 $48.99
Women's Studies/History
January
2009
