An interesting case study but not much new information...

Nan Enstad's work Ladies of Labor, Girls of Adventure without a doubt illuminates an area of popular culture in the early 20th century that few are aware of. Her study of the the dime novels, that surely had an influence on the way lower class women (who could read them) imagined themselves, failed to me to prove that this situation was inherently unique. During this time period workers groups, which included national unions were fighting back against corporations for mistreatment, and poor management practices. To say that these strikers were unique may be a stretch. And the most glaring stretch that Enstad makes is in the way she paints the picture that the sharing of literature between the female factory workers was a unique situation. Literature sharing is far from a new phenomenon not only in the United States but in Europe as well. Even with the incredible amount of literature that was printed at this time; amongst the poorer classes the sharing of a book was common place. Many did not have the money to afford all of what they sought to read, and this exchange just made sense. But it was far from a tradition that existed only among women in factories. It seems to me that Enstad is trying to make too much of the influence these dime novels had on the women workers without sufficient evidence. If she were to assess that these novels had an influence on changing how these women viewed themselves, that I could buy.