I'll add to this already bloated list. If you are looking for a
selection that might confound what students (and most people generally)
think of when they think Virginia, you could do worse than Rebecca
Harding's "Life in the Mills." Originally published in the Atlantic
Monthly in 1861, the story (really an undersized novel) is set in
antebellum Wheeling, Virginia, and represents one of the earliest
examples of American literary naturalism. Its focus on industrialization
and a working class protagonist might foster some interesting
discussions.

In the shameless plug department, Harding (who later became Davis) will
appear in an upcoming volume of the Dictionary of Virginia Biography.


Cheers,


Bland Whitley
Assistant Editor
Dictionary of Virginia Biography
Library of Virginia
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