Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Acknowledgments ix
4. Introduction: Contexts and Controversies 1
5. 1. Gendered Discourses and a Sociology of Texts: Illustrations of Political Economy (1832–4) 10
6. 2. The Linguistic Structure of American Society 26
7. 3. Realism and Feminism: Deerbrook (1839 52
8. 4. History and Romance: The Hour and the Man (1841) 76
9. 5. Invalidism, Mesmerism, and the Medical Profession: Life in the Sick-Room (1844) and Letters on Mesmerism (1844) 107
10. 6. History and Religious Faith: Eastern Life, Present and Past (1848) 139
11. 7. Shaking the Faith: Letters on the Laws of Man's Nature and Development (1851) 169
12. Conclusion 193
13. Notes 197
14. Works Cited 233
15. Index 247