Women of a Promiscuous Nature

ISBN: 1496740726

Author: Everhart, Donna

Condition: New

Girl, Interrupted meets The Handmaids Tale in 1940s North Carolina, as a young woman is accused of promiscuity and unjustly incarcerated at The State Industrial Farm Colony for WomenBased on the long-buried history of the American Plan, this powerful and shockingly timely story of resistance and resilience exposes the real government program designed to regulate womens bodies and sexuality throughout the first half of the 20th century.A Publishers Marketplace BUZZ BOOKS Selection Indie Next Pick LibraryReads SelectionBoth a cautionary tale and a deeply compassionate rendering of women wrongly imprisoned in a system designed to break them, Everharts propulsive story is filled with injustice, intrigue, and the determination to fight back. -LISA WINGATE, #1 New York Times bestselling author of ShelterwoodOn a brisk February morning while walking to the diner where she works, 24 year-old Ruth Foster is stopped by the local sheriff. He insists she accompany him to a health clinic, threatening to arrest her if she doesnt undergo testing in order to preserve decency and prevent the spread of sexual disease.Though Ruth has never shared more than a chaste kiss with a man, by days end she is one of dozens of women held at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. Some are there because they were reported for promiscuity by neighbors, husbands, strangers. Some were accused of prostitution. Others were just pretty and unmarried. Or poor and suspicious. One was eating dinner alone in a restaurant. Another spoke to a soldier.Josephines sin was running a business as a single woman. Maudes was trying to drown her sorrows. Frances had lost her mind. Opal married a man with a mean streak. Some, like 15-year-old Stella, are brought in because theyre victims of assault. Shes too naive and broken to understand how unjust this imprisonment is.Superintendent Dorothy Baker, convinced that shes transforming degenerate souls into upstanding members of society, oversees the womens medical treatment and training until theyre deemed ready for parole. Sooner or later, everyone at the Colony learns to abide by Mrs. Bakers rule book or face the consequences-solitary confinement, grueling work assignments, and worse.But some refuse to be cowed. Some find ways to fight back - at any costA remarkable fusion of research and imagination [with] vivid scenes, compelling characters, perfect pacing-but most impressive of all is Everharts creation of Dorothy Baker. She is one of the most memorable characters Ive read in recent fiction, and further proof of Donna Everharts immense talent. -Ron Rash, award-winning author of Serena