By Piyali C.

My co-worker and I facilitate a class at HCLS Miller Branch called What’s On Your Shelf? Fiction and Non-Fiction Book Chat, which takes place on the second Thursday of each month at 2 pm. We gather to talk about our favorite books, either read that month or in the past. My co-facilitator and I share two or three of our favorite reads and then open the floor for participants to share what they have been reading. My partner makes a lovely PowerPoint presentation of our picks, and I take feverish notes about all the suggestions from participants. We then compile the list and send it out to the group. If someone does not have a book to share, they are welcome to listen.

I look forward to this class with joy and apprehension. Joy, because I get to hear about amazing books. Apprehension, because after each session my to-read list gets longer. But, as one of the participants in the class pointed out to me, the beauty of being a bibliophile is always having a robust to-read list and the resources (like a free public library) to access them. Anyway, all this goes to say that the book I am about to review, The Sewing Girl’s Tale, was suggested by one of the What’s On Your Shelf? participants. I hope you join us for our April session – register here.

In The Sewing Girl’s Tale, author John Wood Sweet brings to light a fascinating piece of history with his superb historical detective skills. In 1793, Lanah Sawyer, a seventeen-year-old seamstress in New York, is assaulted and raped by twenty-six-year-old Harry Bedlow, a member of the upper echelon of society. Often when such assaults occurred, the women were considered ruined and ostracized. Loss of virginity was synonymous with loss of status, prestige, and standing in society. For the most part, the men went on to marry and live successful lives while the victims vanished into obscurity and shame. Lanah decides to fight back with the support of her stepfather, John Callanan.

She brings a lawsuit against Harry Bedlow and the case is brought to trial. What follows is a fascinating legal drama where the key players are white men looking out for other white men, trying to keep them from the noose as the punishment for rape was hanging. Lanah has to testify in court, in front of a packed house, recounting and reliving the horror that was inflicted upon herself. At some point during this legal battle, New York’s top lawyers get involved, including Alexander Hamilton. 

The author does a fascinating job of bringing post-Revolutionary War New York to life, exposing the rampant sexual exploitation of women, class privilege, and sexual double standards. Interestingly, women of a certain class and color were considered victims, as their sexual innocence was considered a virtue. The city at least heard their cases of assault if they wished to file a report against their assailants. Black or poor women did not merit the same treatment. It was heartening to read, however, that when this case caught the attention of the people of New York, women took up pens. They wrote under pseudonyms and ignited an intense debate about holding men accountable for their deeds and considering the previously-mentioned sexual double standard. It could not have been easy for them, given the shackles placed on women at the time, but they spoke out to pave the way for younger generations. 

As I read the book, I kept thinking how some aspects of rape cases have remained the same, when women are not believed, men get off easily, and women must recount their most traumatic experience repeatedly in front of a large number of people to find justice. 

The Sewing Girl’s Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America by John Wood Sweet is available in print format.