Tag sexual assault

A dark cover showing a young woman's profile and a braid draped over her shoulder. A set of award stickers runs down the left.

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

madammommy 1 Comment
A dark cover showing a young woman's profile and a braid draped over her shoulder. A set of award stickers runs down the left.
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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. 

A grey scale drawing of a young woman in safety gear, standing on the ladder of a giant piece of machinery looking out over a seaside vista. Title, author, and edge in yellow.

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton

Kristen B. 1 Comment
A grey scale drawing of a young woman in safety gear, standing on the ladder of a giant piece of machinery looking out over a seaside vista. Title, author, and edge in yellow.

by Kristen B.

I heard an NPR conversation about a graphic memoir, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton, then a friend mentioned they had enjoyed the same book. So, I put it on the calendar for my book group, Books on Tap, to read this fall. We read a wide variety of authors and genres, but not much nonfiction or graphic format. It seemed like a good way to stretch our reading wings. Graphic memoirs make a lot of sense to me because the images do much of the work, allowing the action to move forward without bogging down in description. This was a great example of the genre and how narrative and illustration can work together, even though it got a very mixed reaction from the book group folks.

A native of Nova Scotia with interests in history and art, Kate decides to go work in the oil sands of Alberta to pay off her college loans. The book recounts her experiences in an isolated, industrial environment where the male to female ratio is around 50:1. The constant, unthinking sexism informs the majority of the story, enlivened by a dry wit and rare moments of joy – such as seeing the Northern Lights. She also deals honestly with what seems like the inevitable sexual assault and its aftermath.

At one point, a flock of migrating ducks becomes mired in one of the toxic tailing ponds. International outcry ensues over the fate of the doomed birds, leaving one to wonder about the environmental cost of the industry. Even more, it underscored the human toll that raises no sort of similar outcry. The giant corporations being much more interested in their bottom line than in the welfare of their employees. The black and white illustrations reinforce the bleakness of Kate’s situation, from the physical spaces to the emotional ones. She captures both the huge scale of the machinery and the small scale of being human in such a vast, uncaring space.

Beaton also manages to convey a desperation for human connection, from the workers absent from far away family. Tentative friendships and other relationships cannot fully flourish, but people naturally seek them anyway. When the toll becomes too great for a co-worker, the lip service given to Employee Assistance Programs and other help mechanisms gives way before a toxic corporate culture. The money keeps bringing new people in, and the two years sees Kate go from an overwhelmed novice to someone wise enough to get out when she can. The scenes with her mom are among my favorites. Maybe I had something in my eye when I got to the airport hug at the end – I needed a tissue one way or the other.

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands is available in print, which allows you to really study the graphics.

Kristen B. is a devoted bookworm lucky enough to work as the graphic designer for HCLS. She likes to read, stitch, dance, and watch baseball in season (but not all at the same time).