Julia Nitz Book order

Exploring the diaries of eight Southern women during the Civil War, Julia Nitz reveals how literary allusions shaped their understanding of a tumultuous world. By referencing works like those of Shakespeare and British Romantic poets, these women navigated personal and societal crises, using literature as a lens to examine issues of slavery, Confederate politics, gender roles, and identity. Nitz challenges previous interpretations that dismissed these references as mere embellishments, highlighting their significance in the diarists' reflections on their experiences and societal roles.

First presented at the conference ‘Intercontinental Cross-Currents: Women’s (Net-)Works across Europe and the Americas (1789–1939)’ in Wittenberg, Germany, in December 2013, the papers assembled in this volume trace nineteenth-century women’s networks inside and outside historical movements and literary texts, in diverse genres, at various historical moments, and from different vantage points. Considered together, the contributions attest to the potential of a woman-centered approach to transatlantic historiographical, cultural, and literary studies. Very much like the people, texts, and objects they examine, they are transatlantic in scope and perspective. Truly inspired by the idea and concept of the Atlantic Crosscurrents, these essays confirm and emphasize interdisciplinarity and methodological variety in (trans-)Atlantic studies.