Going to Boston: Harriet Robinson’s Journey to New Womanhood, published in 2017, was not Claudia's first examination of Robinson’s life and work. It all began with her Ph.D dissertation, A Good Poor Man’s Wife: Being a Chronology of Harriet Hanson Robinson and her Family in Nineteenth Century New England, published in 1979 by University Press of New England. Ever since that date, Claudia has been intrigued by Robinson’s life and her underappreciated role in the woman’s suffrage movement. Some of the material for her second book was taken directly from Harriet’s journal of 1870 which was given to Claudia by Harriet’s grandson in law.
Although Harriet began her career as a “mill girl” …among the first paid female textile workers, she left behind her humble roots in the mill town of Lowell, MA, moved to Boston and developed into an activist, poet and author, totally embroiled in the artistic, cultural, and political activities of her new home.
Reviews of Claudia’s 2017 book were glowing:
“Noted historian, Claudia L. Bushman, proves a wonderful guide as she weaves together Robinson’s journal entries, her own learned commentary, and selection from other nineteenth century writers to reveal the impact of the industrial revolution and the rise of women’s suffrage as seen through the experience of one articulate, engaged participant.”
“With observations as astute and as lively as those of her subject, Claudia Bushman shows us how Harriet Robinson, former mill-girl and aspiring middle class housewife, became an activist for women’s rights……
“A gem of a book..”