Review:
A biography of Miriam Van Waters, a Massachusetts prison reformer who believed in individual and cultural transformation through good works. The daughter of an Episcopal minister, Van Waters received her doctorate in 1913. Despite the absence of women in politics, and especially in prison administration, her intelligence and work ethic, and a bevy of outside champions, buoyed her to the position of superintendent of the Massachusetts Reformatory for Women. Freedman recounts the hardships Van Waters encountered upon entering the good old boy network and the difficult decisions she had to make without support. Her unconventional methods finally lost her job, but her unyielding conviction led to vindication.
From the Back Cover:
In her extraordinary career as a prison reformer, Miriam Van Waters worked tirelessly to champion the cause of socially disadvantaged and delinquent women. Yet, it was her sensational battle to retain the superintendency of the Massachusetts Reformatory for Women in 1949 that made her a national cause celebre, triumphantly defending herself against an array of political and ideological enemies. In this compelling biography, Estelle Freedman moves beyond the controversy to reveal a remarkable woman whose success rested upon the power of her own charismatic leadership. She touched thousands of people - from Boston Brahmins to alcoholics, prostitutes, and desperate criminals, to her devoted prison staff and volunteers. Through her, we meet a wealth of characters, including Eleanor Roosevelt, and see the realities of life in the early decades of this century for a single mother of an adopted daughter. A compelling tale in its own right, Van Waters life also supplies a missing chapter in the history of American women. Combining a deep faith in the social power of motherhood with professional efforts to secure equal justice for women and children. Van Waters and her generation provide a legacy for contemporary woman activists.
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