An American Anarchist: The Life of Voltairine de Cleyre

ISBN: 1849352682

Author: Avrich, Paul

Condition: New

When it was first published, An American Anarchist marked a trail historians of American anarchism are still following today. Narrative-driven like all of Paul Avrichs works, it presents Voltairine de Cleyre and her fellow anarchists as complex human beings. De Cleyre (1866-1912) was the first prominent American-born anarchist. From her writings and speeches, through the illnesses that plagued her, the assassination attempt that left her clinging to life, to her early death at forty- five, she worked tirelessly for her ideal. Avrich places her squarely in her vibrant milieu, highlighting famous characters like Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman and the infamous, like Dyer D. Lum-Voltairine de Cleyres lover and the man who sneaked a dynamite cartridge into Louis Linggs cell so the accused Haymarket Martyr could die at his own hand and not the states. This edition includes a new introduction by historian Robert P. Helms.