Mark Kelley

From Dr. Amanda Frost, John A. Ewald Jr. Research Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law:
In AN UNCOMMON WOMAN, author Mark Kelley uncovered a treasure trove of archival materials to tell the remarkable life story of Lydia Hamilton Smith. Kelley rescues Smith from obscurity, and in doing so makes the powerful case that she is one of the nineteenth centuries most influential women. Born in 1813 in Pennsylvania to a Black female servant and an unknown White father, Smith rose to the position of housekeeper and close confidante of Reconstruction leader Thaddeus Stevens, and then went on to become one of the nation’s most successful businesswomen. Kelley recounts how Smith had to fight every step of the way to be treated with dignity and respect, insisting that her nation live up to the egalitarian principles of the Reconstruction era. Kelley masterfully combines exhaustive archival research with lively prose and historical context to bring this previously hidden historical figure to vivid life.… (mais)