Description: American Infidelity uncovers a forgotten cultural battle at the heart of the Gilded Age--a fierce clash between evangelical moralism and the radical movements for freethought, feminism, and sexual freedom. Historian Steven K. Green brings this explosive era to life, revealing how the tensions that defined the late 19th century still shape American debates today.
Review Quotes: "This is a subtle and sophisticated book that reveals the connections between intellectual and sexual dissent in the Gilded Age. Steven K. Green offers a history of colorful characters, legitimate intellectual disagreements, personal feuds, and a few victories against a backdrop of Christian social, political, and legal power. It should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the precursors to our contemporary controversies." -- David Sehat, author of This Earthly Frame: The Making of American Secularism
"The oft-strained alliance between freethinkers and sex radicals was combustible. It inflamed evangelical opponents, while also igniting conflict within liberal ranks. Green'sAmerican Infidelity encompasses that volatility within a carefully constructed survey of the intertwined worlds of freethought, marriage reform, and women's rights in the Gilded Age. All the major players are here- from Robert Ingersoll to Elizabeth Cady Stanton; their stories are deftly told, and their movements expertly unpacked." -- Leigh E. Schmidt, Washington University in St. Louis, author of Heaven's Bride: The Unprintable Life of Ida C. Craddock, American Mystic, Scholar, Sexologist, Martyr, and Madwoman