Remarkable Connecticut Women - Paperback

by Antonia Petrash (Author)

Despite being the third smallest state, Connecticut can claim more than its share of remarkable women who have made lasting social, political, and cultural contributions to both their own state and to their nation. From Prudence Crandall, Connecticut's official State Heroine, who braved imprisonment for opening a school for black girls, to Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose classic Uncle Tom's Cabin urged the nation on a path towards abolition of slavery, to Margaret Fogarty Rudkin, who changed the nation's eating habits with her healthful bread made at Pepperidge Farm, Connecticut women have broken the rules to make their own and in the process improved their world, and ultimately ours, forever.

Back Jacket

More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Connecticut Women profiles the lives of thirteen strong and determined women, all of whom broke through social, cultural, and political barriers to advance women's roles-in the arts, on the battlefield, and in education, exploration, and commerce. Meet Anna Warner Bailey, who assisted soldiers during the Revolutionary War; Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, the book credited for exposing the moral cruelty of slavery; Mary Jobe Akeley, an explorer who penetrated the Belgian Congo to gather specimens for the American Museum of Natural History; Katharine Houghton-Hepburn (mother of the famous actress), who campaigned for women's right to vote; and Margaret Fogarty Rudkin, founder of Pepperidge Farm, one of the most successful food-purveyors in the world. These women defied social norms and prejudices, making contributions to society that still have an impact today. Read about their extraordinary lives in this collection of brief and absorbing biographies.

Author Biography

Antonia Petrash was born and raised in New York and enjoys a deep and abiding interest in the history of the area, especially the history of its extraordinary women. In addition to her writing career, she works as a librarian and archivist and manages a small local history collection on Long Island. She is also the author of Globe Pequot's More than Petticoats: Remarkable New York Women.