Susan B. Anthony: A Biography

by Kathleen Barry

Looks at Anthony's conventional Quaker upbringing and explains how she became involved in the women's suffrage movement

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Feminism, History

1 pages, Hardcover

First published August 18, 1990

About the author

Kathleen Barry is an American sociologist. She cofounded the United Nations NGO, the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW).

Reviews

[Terri Strange · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning more about the organizing and work of Susan B Anthony. I definitely came away inspired and full of wonder about my own work as a feminist and what sort of legacy is left by the choices we make. I appreciate Barry’s focus on the female relationships that sustained Anthony though wish there was more to emphasize her lesbianism and lovers she had.

[Sistermagpie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always thought of Susan B. Anthony as a champion of women's suffrage, and also knew she was an abolitionist, but you don't know just how impressive she was until you learn more about her! Anthony is one of those historical figures who sounds almost like a modern day person dropped into the past, arguing what now sounds like common sense to a culture that hadn't yet figured it out.

Although she made some compromises of her values later in life in pursuit of her political aims, she was personally incredibly true to her beliefs. Her larger than life personality really jumps off the page, and I had to laugh to realize how much of a force of nature she was for the women who knew her and adored her. The phrase "kicking ass and taking names" has never applied so perfectly to anyone as "Aunt Susan."

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

As a woman, I feel like this was a very valuable read for me. I was surprised that there weren't more books out there about Susan B. Anthony (this is the most recent one I could find that wasn't written for children).

The first bit was pretty academic and read like a college lecture, but as the author warmed to the subject, I was more engaged and actively interested in the subject matter.

I enjoyed learning about Susan B. Anthony and the early women's rights movement. I didn't realize how intertwined it was with the abolitionist movement (up to the Civil War), and I enjoyed learning about the abolitionist movement from a different perspective.

The author is very pro-Anthony; in her discussion of the controversies surrounding Anthony, she always takes Anthony's side. Anthony was so dedicated to the women's cause that sometimes it manifested as being indifferent to other causes (abolition, workers' rights, etc) and other times manifested in ways that made people from "respectable" society shun her (eg. when she defended "fallen" women as being victims of male dominance. Some of the stories are pretty heartbreaking).

Wyoming territory enfranchising women is not mentioned chronologically, but 20 years later when they become a state, and only one paragraph is dedicated to it. I was surprised that the author didn't directly reveal Anthony's thoughts and feelings about the four states that enfranchised women before her death. I believe it was important to her, but the only evidence of it in the book is the American flag pin that she wore. It only had 4 stars (one for each of the states with women's suffrage).

Some of the horrors against women I learned about in this book really brought home to me how poorly women were LEGALLY treated. I knew a lot of the things, like not being allowed to own property, not having the right to vote, etc, but I had no idea of the institutional disregard for women, especially poor women, and their safety.

I think it could have benefited from another editing read-through (there are some strangely worded sentences and a misspelled word) and I felt that the author may have given a biased or cherry picked interpretation of the facts, but I also feel like she gave us a valuable point of view of history that is often overlooked. I am amazed that people today do not talk of how women were oppressed and exploited, though I am glad that women do raise awareness of our current issues.

[Jay C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great read. As a history major in college, it's a bit embarrassing to admit that I knew very little about Susan B. Anthony before reading this book. (in my defense, my area of concentration was Ancient History and the Classical World, but anyway...) Before reading, she was just a name or a historical fact I knew or maybe the face on a weird-sized and shaped dollar coin that came out in 1979.

That has certainly changed as I feel like I've gotten to know her over the past couple weeks when I was reading this biography. So much so that I felt myself getting a little emotional in the final chapter when she was obviously approaching death. A tireless worker completely devoted to her cause - a cause pursued not just for herself but also on behalf of others. Definitely someone to look up to for all people, not just half the population. :-)

[Samantha Parkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished _Susan B. Anthony: A Biography_ by Kathleen Barry. Anthony was a pioneering leader of the women’s rights movement and advocate for universal suffrage, and Barry provides rich context and description of how the temperance, abolitionist, and women’s rights movements were once intertwined but fractured after the civil war. I was impressed with Anthony’s total dedication to the cause and her stamina for canvassing, organizing, fundraising, lecturing, and promoting others, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton. While it took me longer to read than others, (not the ideal beach read) I’m glad I learned more about first wave feminism. However it’s difficult to read about someone fighting for the right to vote for over 60 years and dying before being granted that right.

[Jill McNish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess this is the best biography that exists about this extraordinary, passionate, indefatigable 19th century prophet and warrior for women. She was truly a woman way ahead of her time, who gave her entire life fighting for her beliefs, never, ever compromising. All of which beliefs proved to be prescient and true. But given the diaries, correspondence, speeches, etc that she left behind she deserves much better than this biography, well meaning as it is. Why hasn’t something more penetrating been written? Surely Anthony was no less important a leader than Frederick Douglass or MLK, who are both the subject of majestic biographies. No doubt, because Susan B. Anthony WAS a strong, prophetic WOMAN fighting for WOMEN.

[Jodi Meadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very inspiring. Scholarly, but very accessible. There is lots of commentary. I think I will read some of her actual writings next.