A Book Without a Title: Or, Thrilling Events in the Life of Mira Dana
A fictional account of the 1836 turn-out (strike) of Lowell textile mill women. Estranged from an abusive husband and separated from her children, Martha W. Tyler's heroine, Mira Dana, relies upon “a true woman's courage and hopefulness” to endure. These strengths had sustained her through many challenges, including leading a strike in the Lowell, Massachusetts, textile mills. That Tyler's autobiographical novel includes the first known representation of a strike in American fiction has long remained an obscure item of literary history.
"'A true woman's courage and hopefulness': Martha W. Tyler's A Book without a Title: or, Thrilling Events in the Life of Mira Dana (1855-56).." The Free Library. 2004 University of Nebraska Press 24 Jan. 2023 https://www.thefreelibrary.com/%22A+true+woman%27s+courage+and+hopefulness%22%3a+Martha+W.+Tyler%27s+A+Book...-a0119023065
M.W. (Martha W.) Tyler.
A Book Without a Title or, Thrilling Events in the Life of Mira Dana.
Boston: Printed for the Author, 1855.
Lehigh University Catalog Record: https://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/Record/1171982
A version of this text has been digitized and is available through Hathitrust.
If you're interested in learning more about the historical events that inspired this novel, please refer to the links below:
"Labor Reform: Early Strikes" by the Lowell National Historical Park, Massachusetts, National Park Service, 26 October 2021.
"Constitution of the Lowell Factory Girls Association." from 1836, in Lowell History: 19th Century Documents, University of Massachusetts Lowell Library.