The Essential Lectures of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 1890-1894

The last decades have seen a resurgence of interest in Charlotte Perkins Gilman, now considered among the most important thinkers in US history. She is best known for fictionsuch as the classic short story The Yellow Wall-Paper (1892)and nonfiction, including her manifesto Women and Economics (1898), a work of intersectional sociology avant la lettre. Nevertheless, as a young writer, Gilman made her living delivering lectures. One cannot know Gilman without some knowledge of this body of lectures; this book fills that critical gap in Gilman scholarship.

Since the recovery of Charlotte Perkins Gilman began in the late 1960s and continued with the republication of The Yellow Wall-Paper in the 1970s, her image in cultural memory has been increasingly celebrated. Andrew J. Ball presents here fifty previously unpublished texts. They trace the development of Gilmans thoughts on diverse subjects like gender, education, labor, science, theology, and politicsforming an intellectual diary of her growth.

These lectures are not just a testament to Gilmans personal evolution, but also a crucial contribution to the foundations of American sociology and philosophy. The Essential Lectures of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 18901894 marks a historic moment, unveiling the hidden genius of Gilman's oratory legacy.