I am a bit dismayed that this is the first I've heard of the Prudence Crandall School. It's the exact sort of story that fascinates me: a woman bucking societal norms for the greater good. Crandall was already pushing boundaries by having her girl's school curriculum emphasize science and math. She was encouraging her students to think and ask questions, to really explore the way that the world works. It was a logical step, then, to include Black students. Of course, that was completely revolutionary in the 1800s. Lupano shows us all of the challenges the school faced: low enrollment, public ridicule, lack of support, and outright threats. But we also see the students challenged by what they were learning in school and from public opinion. They are questioning religion, their role in society, what to protest and what to accept. They come from different backgrounds and it affects how they interact with one another. The school's eventual downfall is disappointing but unsurprising, given the political climate of the time. The cartoony illustrations keep the events from feeling too intense but remain highly expressive. It's absolutely compelling. Even cooler, the afterward includes brief biographies of Crandall and of each of the students. To have a paragraph about most of the students is a bit astonishing, given how little we know about most women from the era.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
No comments:
Post a Comment