It is good to see Susan B. venerated on her birthday, especially since many regarded her as troublesome during her lifetime. I wonder how troubled she would be by some of the current causes that have tried to co-opt her support posthumously.
Though I have not been blogging recently, my interest in Susan never flags. My focus since 2012 has broadened to include the context of her family. Her biography and letters both demonstrate how important they were to her in forming her views on universal human rights.
Today’s Google slideshow honoring Susan B.’s 200th mentioned the significance of her family’s Sunday antislavery dinners. They even noted her brother Merritt’s involvement with crusader John Brown in Kansas. However, Google failed to mention her other abolitionist brother Daniel, whose influence on Kansas society and on Susan was much greater. This assures me that my work on Daniel in my Dauntless Series is still plowing new ground.
Series devoted to the Anthonys
My first historical novel in the Dauntless Series on Daniel’s family, The Truth About Daniel, was published in 2017. On this 200th anniversary, I’m working on Books Two and Three. In the second novel, Susan’s abolitionist activities and reform methods both inspire her Kansas family and critique it. It examines the Civil War from three important viewpoints from that of:
- a slave,
- an abolitionist,
- and a family attacked by abolitionists.
Book Two features the many ways women were affected by the war. This is a theme that historians often fail to notice in their focus on soldiers, battles, generals, and bloodshed. I like to think that Susan, who was always living and writing herstory, would approve of my approach.
I’m taking a publishing hiatus before publishing more of the series. In the meantime, if you are looking for an easy-read biography of Susan please get my book Susan B. Anthony And Justice For All. It’s based on the biography that she authorized during her lifetime, and it’s available on Amazon and Kindle. And stay tuned for my next novel where she makes cameo appearances.