A Useful Woman

 Today, Jane Addams is widely recognized as an extraordinary figure in  our nation’s history, one of a roster of great Americans – Abraham  Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. among them – who made lasting  contributions to social justice. But as with the lives of many  iconographic figures, the legend often obscures the real story.

Frequently recognized as one of the most influential women of  the century – and considered a heroine by nurses and social workers  around the globe – Jane Addams had to struggle long and hard to earn her  place in history. Born in 1860 on the eve of the Civil War, she lived  during pivotal times when women were only beginning to create new roles  for themselves (ironically building on the Victorian ideal of women as  ministering angels).

Focusing on her metamorphosis from a frail, small-town girl  into a woman who inspired hundreds of others to join her movement to  serve the poor, A Useful Woman delves into the mysterious ailments and  other troubles young Jane faced. Examining for the firs time Jane’s  physical and mental health and the effect of her father’s remarriage  after her mother’s death, Gioia Diliberto links Addams’s proneness to  depression to her inability to conform to the mores of her time. Also,  for the first time, she examines in detail Addams’s two marriage-like  relationships with women.

With hundreds of previously unavailable documents at her  disposal, Gioia Diliberto has written a fascinating study of one of the  most intriguing and important women in history, concentrating on her  difficult formative years with compelling – and groundbreaking –  results.