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Praised at the time as the most emphatically “American” book ever written, Margaret is a breathtaking combination of female bildungsroman, utopian novel, and historical romance. First published in 1845, Sylvester Judd’s novel centers on the fictional New England village of Livingston, where the young Margaret Hart strives to escape the poverty and vice of her surroundings by learning from a mysterious teacher, the “Master,” and by entwining herself with the powers of nature. But when Margaret’s brother is tried and hanged for murder, this rural community collapses, forcing Margaret to face the temptations of an urban underworld and to confront the intrigue of her family history. Margaret is the story of a young woman’s attempt to create a new social order, founded on beauty and truth, in a land plagued by violence, debauchery, and political instability. As Gavin Jones points out in his new introduction, Margaret perhaps stands alone in its creation of a female character who grows in social rather than domestic power. The novel also remains unique in its exploration of transcendental philosophy in novelistic form. Part eco-criticism, part seduction novel, part temperance tract, and part social history, Margaret is a virtual handbook for understanding the literary culture of mid-nineteenth-century America, the missing piece in puzzling out connections between writers such as Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman, and Thoreau. Margaret was widely read and deeply influential on both British and American writers throughout the nineteenth century but controversial for its representations of alcoholism and capital punishment. Judd’s novel remains resonant for today’s readers as it overturns conventional views of the literary representation of women and the origins of the American Renaissance.

Table of Contents

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  1. Cover
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  1. Title Page
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  1. Copyright Page
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  1. Table of Contents
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  1. Introduction
  2. pp. vii-xxii
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  1. Note on The Text
  2. p. xxiii
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  1. Part I: Childhood
  1. Chapter I: Phantasmagorical. -- Introductory
  2. pp. 3-5
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  1. Chapter II: Work And Beauty. -- An Impression Of The Real.
  2. pp. 6-10
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  1. Chapter III: Localities Described. -- The Family More Particularly Enumerated. -- Obed Introduced.
  2. pp. 11-16
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  1. Chapter IV: The Widow Wright.
  2. pp. 17-20
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  1. Chapter V: The Bee-Hunt. -- Margaret Goes Farther Into Nature. -- She Sins And Repents. -- The Master.
  2. pp. 21-27
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  1. Chapter VI: Why Margaret Was Sorrowful. -- Dreams. -- Livingston. -- A Glimpse At The World. -- Isabel. -- Night And Other Shadows.
  2. pp. 28-41
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  1. Chapter VII: Retrospective And Explanatory.
  2. pp. 42-47
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  1. Chapter VIII: Margaret's Oldest Brother, Nimrod, Comes Home. -- He Proposes A Variety Of Diversions.
  2. pp. 48-56
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  1. Chapter IX: Margaret Successful In A Novel Adventure.
  2. pp. 57-59
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  1. Chapter X: Thanksgiving, Or New England's Holiday. -- Margaret Has Her Diversion.
  2. pp. 60-70
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  1. Chapter XI: A Revised Account Of Nimrod And His Doings.
  2. pp. 71-75
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  1. Chapter XII: The Story Of Gottfried Br
  2. pp. 76-92
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  1. Chapter XIII: Returns To Margaret, Who Advances In Childhood And Knowledge Of The World.
  2. pp. 93-103
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  1. Chapter XIV: The Sabbath. -- Margaret Goes To Meeting For The First Time. -- Her Dream Of Jesus.
  2. pp. 104-129
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  1. Chapter XV: Margaret Passes A Night At The Still, And Solomon Smith Makes Her Useful.
  2. pp. 130-137
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  1. Chapter XVI: Margaret Enquires After The Infinite; And Cannot Make Her Way Out Of The Finite. „ She Unwittingly Creates A Great Sensation In The Town Of Livingston.
  2. pp. 138-158
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  1. Chapter XVII: Winter.
  2. pp. 159-182
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  1. Part II: Youth
  1. Chapter I: Spring. -- Rose. -- Margaret Keeps School. -- Sundry Matters. -- Mr. Anonymous.
  2. pp. 185-221
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  1. Chapter II: Margaret. -- Mr. Evelyn. -- Christ.
  2. pp. 222-240
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  1. Chapter III: Christianity.
  2. pp. 241-264
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  1. Chapter IV: Sundry Matters.
  2. pp. 265-273
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  1. Chapter VI: The Husking Bee.
  2. pp. 299-311
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  1. Chapter VII: The Arrest . -- The People Of Livingston Deliberate On The State Of Affairs.
  2. pp. 312-324
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  1. Chapter VIII: The Trial.
  2. pp. 325-340
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  1. Chapter IX: Margaret And Chilion.
  2. pp. 341-351
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  1. Chapter X: The Execution.
  2. pp. 352-361
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  1. Chapter XI: Margaret Goes To The Bay.
  2. pp. 362-383
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  1. Chapter XII: The History Of Mr.Girardeau.
  2. pp. 384-389
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  1. Part III: Womanhood
  2. pp. 391-468
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  1. Acknowledgments
  2. p. 469
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  1. Back Cover
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