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 [log in to unmask] To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html