The Sewing Girl's Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America

Based on thorough historical research, this book tells the story of Lanah Sawyer, a 17-year-old seamstress who accused a gentleman of rape in 1793, sparking a fierce courtroom drama and a debate about class privilege and sexual double standards. The trial exposed a predatory sexual underworld and ignited riots in the streets, shaping the development of American law. Sawyer eventually succeeded in holding her assailant accountable, but at a terrible cost to herself.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 11 July 2023
Publisher: St Martin's Press

New York Times Editors Choice
Winner of the Bancroft Prize
Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize
Winner of the Gotham Book Prize
Winner of the New York Society Library s New York City Book Award
Journal of the American Revolution Book of the Year
Winner of the David J. Langum, Sr. Prize in American Legal History
A Riveting Revolutionary Era Drama of the First Published Rape Trial in American History and Its Long, Shattering Aftermath
Revealing How Much Has Changed Over Two Centuries - and How Much Has Not
On a Moonless Night in the Summer of 1793, a Crime Was Committed in the Back Room of a New York Brothel
The Kind of Crime That Even Victims Usually Kept Secret
Instead, Seventeen-Year-Old Seamstress Lanah Sawyer Did What Virtually No One in US History Had Done Before:
She Charged a Gentleman with Rape.
Her Accusation Sparked a Raw Courtroom Drama and a Relentless Struggle for Vindication That Threatened Both Lanah s and Her Assailant s Lives.
The Trial Exposed a Predatory Sexual Underworld, Sparked Riots in the Streets, and Ignited a Vigorous Debate About Class Privilege and Sexual Double Standards.
The Ongoing Conflict Attracted the Nation s Top Lawyers, Including Alexander Hamilton, and Shaped the Development of American Law.
The Crime and Its Consequences Became a Kind of Parable About the Power of Seduction and the Limits of Justice.
Eventually, Lanah Sawyer Did Succeed in Holding Her Assailant Accountable - but at a Terrible Cost to Herself.
Based on Rigorous Historical Detective Work, This Book Takes Us from a Chance Encounter in the Street into the Sanctuaries of the City s Elite, the Shadows of Its Brothels, and the Despair of Its Debtors Prison.
The Sewing Girl s Tale Shows That If Our Laws and Our Culture Were Changed by a Persistent Young Woman and the Power of Words, Then Anything Is Possible.

Weight: 432g
Dimension: 150 x 230 x 29 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781250871480