Heartsick and Astonished features twenty-seven divorce cases from mid-nineteenth century America. More than dry legal documents, these cases provide a captivating window into marital life-and strife-in the border South during the tumultuous years before, during, and after the Civil War. Allison Dorothy Fredette has brought these primary documents to light, revealing the inner thoughts, legal hardships, and day-to-day struggles of these average citizens. In Wheeling, West Virginia, the seat of Ohio County, courtrooms bore witness to men and women from various ethnic, racial, and class backgrounds who shared shockingly intimate details of their lives and relationships. Some tried desperately to defend their masculinity or femininity; others hoped to restore their reputations to the legal system and to their community. In an era of uncertainty-when the country was torn in two, when the Wheeling community became the capital of a new state, and when activists across the country began to push for women's rights in the household and family-the divorce cases of ordinary couples reveal changing attitudes toward marriage, gender, and legal separation in a booming border city perched on the edge of the South.

Heartsick and Astonished features twenty-seven divorce cases from mid-nineteenth century America. More than dry legal documents, these cases provide a captivating window into marital life—and strife—in the border South during the tumultuous years before, during, and after the Civil War. Allison Dorothy Fredette has brought these primary documents to light, revealing the inner thoughts, legal hardships, and day-to-day struggles of these average citizens. In Wheeling, West Virginia, the seat of Ohio County, courtrooms bore witness to men and women from various ethnic, racial, and class backgrounds who shared shockingly intimate details of their lives and relationships. Some tried desperately to defend their masculinity or femininity; others hoped to restore their reputations to the legal system and to their community. In an era of uncertainty—when the country was torn in two, when the Wheeling community became the capital of a new state, and when activists across the country began to push for women’s rights in the household and family—the divorce cases of ordinary couples reveal changing attitudes toward marriage, gender, and legal separation in a booming border city perched on the edge of the South.

'Thought-provoking, highly original and beautifully nuanced. Jessie Stephens' journalistic skill shines as she weaves together true stories with a narrative as compelling as any novel.' Jane Harper 'Heartbreak does not seem to be a brand of grief we respect. And so we are left in the middle of the ocean, floating in a dinghy with no anchor, while the world waits for us to be okay again.' Claire has returned from London to the dust and familiarity of her childhood home, only to realise something is wrong with her partner Maggie. Patrick is a lonely uni student, until he meets Caitlin - but does she feel as connected as he does? Ana is happily married with three children. Then, one night, she falls in love with someone else. Based on three true stories, Heartsick is a compelling narrative nonfiction account of the many lows and occasional surprising highs of heartbreak. Bruising, beautiful, achingly specific but wholeheartedly universal, it reminds us that emotional pain can make us as it breaks us, and that storytelling has the ultimate healing power. SHORTLISTED FOR THE ABIA GENERAL NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 Praise for Heartsick 'A remarkable longform journalism exploration of the human heart and how it breaks. Original, meticulous, marvellous. Stephens has such a handle on heartbreak here that you'd be forgiven for thinking she's had hers broken hundreds of times. But, of course, just once is more than enough for anyone. Dive in, soak up every word, and remember what it felt like to ache with the glorious sick.' - Trent Dalton 'Full of empathy and grippingly told, this is a book for anyone who has suffered a broken heart. Jessie Stephens perfectly captures the thrill of love, as well as the agony that sometimes follows. You'll care desperately for all these people, in all their damage and hope.' - Richard Glover 'This book is a delight. Stephens has written a compulsive, utterly endearing thing about that most human of struggles: heartache. It is Sally Rooney's Normal People meets Louis Theroux. What Heartsick does for us all, because its core is universal, is reveal the true nature of love in astonishing detail. The precision will grip you. Stephens shows us, too, that we are not alone. And that is a gift.' - Rick Morton 'Unflinching, perceptive and inquisitive - all the things Jessie Stephens does best - Heartsick is a window into another person's soul, with permission to read the inside of their heart. In its pages, Heartsick delivers what every broken-hearted person needs, the ability to see themselves in others who have walked this path before them. With this book, Jessie Stephens has just established herself as a major player in the Australian literary scene. A stunning debut.' - Sally Hepworth 'Heartsick is heartbreak close up - a magnifying glass that shows us the beating muscle of heartache. It reminded me that the closer a writer gets, the more universal the story becomes. I just loved this book. I hope you will too.' - Sophie Hardcastle

The John Lovejoy Murray collection of letters contains insights into the experiences of an African American soldier and his regiment during the Civil War. John Lovejoy Murray, a private in Company E, 102nd USCT, died of disease in a Charleston hospital on April 12, 1865. Through John Murray’s letters, readers can experience the war through the eyes of a literate northern Black soldier. His is the story of the soldiers who did not receive accolades for their heroic actions in battle, the ones who spent more time on picket and fatigue duty than on the front lines, the ones who died from disease more than they did of battle-related wounds. Murray’s letters are significant because they are ordinary in some respects yet extraordinary in others. Some of the activities and sentiments portrayed in the letters are hardly distinguishable from those described in letters written by White soldiers. In other ways, the letters represent a perspective distinctly from a Black soldier in the Union army. Although many of his experiences may have been typical, John Lovejoy Murray himself, a literate, freeborn, northern Black man, was atypical among Union Black soldiers.

It's 1910, and thirteen-year-old Raisa has just traveled alone from a small Polish shtetl all the way to New York City. It's overwhelming, awe-inspiring, and even dangerous, especially when she discovers that her sister has disappeared and she must now fend for herself. She finds work in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory sewing bodices on the popular shirtwaists. Raisa makes friends and even-dare she admit it?- falls in love. But then 1911 dawns, and one March day a spark ignites in the factory. One of the city's most harrowing tragedies unfolds, and Raisa's life is forever changed. . . . One hundred years after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, this moving young adult novel gives life to the tragedy and hope of this transformative event in American history.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "A Volunteer with Pike" (The True Narrative of One Dr. John Robinson and of His Love for the Fair Señorita Vallois) by Robert Ames Bennet. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.