To Make My Bread (Radical Novel Reconsidered)

A story of the industrialization of the South, To Make My Bread revolves around a family of Appalachian mountaineers - small farmers, hunters, and moonshiners - driven by economic conditions to the milltown and transformed into millhands, strikers, and rebels against the established order. Recognized as one of the major works on the Gastonia textile strike, Grace Lumpkin's novel is important for anyone interested in cultural or feminist history as it deals with early generations of women radicals committed to addressing the difficult connections of class and race. Suzanne Sowinska's introduction looks at Lumpkin's volatile career and this book's critical reception.