A review by andipants
Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America by Rachel Hope Cleves

4.0

Well-researched and extensively documented. The subject matter necessitates a good deal of "reading between the lines", as it were, but the author does a good job of explaining when she's doing that, and why, and going over all possible interpretations where multiple possibilities exist. My only complaint was that the end product was honestly a little dull, but if nothing else, that underscores the fact that these were ordinary people living ordinary lives except for a few (obviously very important) differences in detail. And even apart from the question of Charity and Sylvia's relationship, this is a fascinating glimpse at everyday life in early 19th century America. The short length makes up for any tedium; definitely worth the read.