Photo by Lucy Isaacs ’25.
The Odyssey Bookshop hosted author Lydia Moland who discussed her new book about Lydia Child.
By Lucy Isaacs ’25
Staff Writer
On March 2, the Odyssey Bookshop hosted Lydia Moland, author of “Lydia Maria Child: A Radical American Life,” published in October 2022 by the University of Chicago Press. Moland, a professor of philosophy at Colby College, provided a brief but comprehensive overview of Child’s work as an active proponent of abolition in the 19th century.
Born in 1802, Child was a Massachusetts abolitionist who published a number of texts advocating for racial equality, and her activism frequently took the form of prose. Describing Child as a “prodigious writer,” Moland detailed Child’s initial career as a novelist, poet and author of “The Frugal Housewife.” Moland further explained how the trajectory of Child’s life shifted upon her introduction to the abolitionist movement via William Llyod Garrison, prompting Child to dedicate her literary talents to anti-slavery activism.
Moland expressed excitement at the talk’s proximity to Northampton, MA, as Child lived in Northampton for a number of years, described by Historic Northampton as a period in which she attempted “to grow sugar beets to undermine the plantation sugar trade.”
Holding that abolitionist women were hardly a monolith, Moland shared a portion of her book in which she describes the “in-fighting” that occurred within abolitionist movements, specifically concerning the “woman question,” which asked to what extent women should publicly be included in anti-slavery activism. Moland specifically described Child’s complex relationship with fellow abolitionist Maria Weston Chapman and the internal division that ensued amongst abolitionist women, as they debated the complicated role they played within anti-slavery movements.
Moland, whose previous academic works have focused primarily on philosophy, cites the shift in topic as a product of former President Donald Trump’s election. “I found myself after that election desperately looking for examples in our history of what people had done when there was a moral emergency in the country — a sense that our country’s values were under attack and that it was going to take all hands on deck to right the ship. Obviously, the Civil War was a kind of emergency, and since I know 19th-century history fairly well, I decided to start there,” Moland said of her decision to research abolitionists in an interview with the Mount Holyoke News.
Moland initially learned of Child’s work when doing archival research, coming across a letter that Child had written to a friend. In her interview, Moland described being drawn to the prose’s “blend of wit, self-deprecation, wisdom and solidarity,” prompting her to explore Child’s life and work. Moland was subsequently frustrated by Child’s historical neglect and inspired to bring attention to her activism.
Despite her expressed admiration, Moland did not shy away from leveling criticism against
Child when she felt it warranted, nor from addressing the privilege Child possessed as a white woman who had continual access to formal education. Moland urged attendants of the talk — who joined both in person and virtually — to pair the reading of her book with “The Color of Abolition: How a Printer, a Prophet and a Contessa Moved a Nation” by Linda Hirshman and “The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family” by Kerri Greendige, both of which are available for purchase at the Odyssey Bookshop. Moland also urged the audience to explore the collected works of bell hooks, stating that she tries to read hook’s “All About Love: New Visions,” at least once each year.
Moland does not intend for her most recent book to serve as her final piece on Child’s work and life. “I’m right now writing a few pieces about her more philosophical writings as well as some of the tensions in the abolitionist movement about women’s involvement. And I feel like I’ve just scratched the surface of many of the other things she’s done — she also wrote a history of religion and edited a book on religious tolerance that I think would be interesting to think more about,” Moland said to the Mount Holyoke News.
Though the talk concluded at 8 p.m., Moland lingered to speak with audience members and sign copies of her book, which are currently available at the Odyssey Bookshop. Moland will be speaking at the Boston Athenaeum on March 20, for which in-person and virtual tickets can be purchased online.