Coming Unbound

Barred from the battlefield and the ballot box, three female activists used the power of language to support freedom-for the country and themselves.

As long as liberty matters, so will the women who helped make it possible. Yet few figures have been as eclipsed as the female writers who put their lives on the line to speak out against slavery.Coming Unbound gives three of the most influential authors their due for instigating a war which culminated in abolition and reshaped an entire nation. Popular author Lydia Maria Child, former enslaver-turned-lecturer Angelina Emily Grimké, and free Black poet Frances Ellen Watkins Harper defied the limitations of their time to liberate the enslaved-and women-from their bonds. Pelaez recounts their turbulent decades-long struggle in their own words, spanning from the antebellum era through the Civil War up to emancipation. We witness their enlightenment, their triumphs and setbacks both personal and professional, and through it all their indefatigable insistence on bringing slavery to an end.

Denied the right to vote, legislate, or fight, these women relied on the only weapon they had, wielding their words as ammunition in the social media of the day. They insisted on their right to free speech by waging a literary war on the page as much as on the podium, often navigating hostile critics and violent protesters. "Firsts" in a number of ways, their writings mobilized scores of followers, reformed public opinion, and proved women could make a mark in exclusively male spaces.

More than a group biography of three trailblazers, this riveting literary history is an account of America's moral awakening, testifying to the transformative impact of fearless activism. The legacy of these women-who had the courage to champion the most controversial cause of their time-will inspire anyone hoping to use their own voice freely to make a difference.