Ahead of Her Time: Abby Kelley and the Politics of Antislavery

by Dorothy Sterling

“[The author] tells this remarkable story with honesty and compassion. Readers will find a wealth of new information not only about Kelley’s outstanding contribution to abolitionism but about the movements to bring about the end of slavery and to advance the cause of women.” ―Mari Jo Buhle, Brown University In the tumultuous years before the Civil War, a young white woman from a Quaker background came to embody commitment to the cause of antislavery and equal rights for black people. Abby Kelley became the abolitionist movement’s chief money-raiser and organizer and its most radial member. She traveled hundreds of miles to awaken the country to the evils of slavery, braving hardship and prejudice as well as opening the way for other women, black and white, to take leadership roles. Now the full story of this principled woman has been told in Dorothy Sterling’s compelling biography.

Genres: History, Biography, American History, Nonfiction

484 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Dorothy Sterling (Dannenberg) was a Jewish-American writer and historian.

She was born and grew up in New York City, attended Wellesley College, and graduated from Barnard College in 1934. After college, she worked as a journalist and writer in New York for several years. In 1937, she married Philip Sterling, also a writer. In the 1940s, she worked for Life Magazine for 8 years. In early 1968, 448 writers and editors including Dorothy put a full-page ad in the New York Post declaring their intention to refuse to pay taxes for the Vietnam War.

Dorothy was the author of more than 30 books, mainly non-fiction historical works for children on the origins of the women's and anti-slavery movements, civil rights, segregation, and nature, as well as mysteries. She has won several awards for her writings, including the Carter G. Woodson Book Award from the National Council For The Social Studies For The Trouble They Seen: Black People Tell The Story Of Reconstruction, in 1976.