Beggars and Books.

We often think of reading and writing as aspects of the spread of refinement through American culture. This article explores a rougher world of writing, printing, publishing, and bookselling. A few of the early nineteenth-century Americans whose lives were upended by war, politics, and international intrigue turned to print to recover money and good name. The essay investigates the tactics the poor employed to present themselves and their stories to the skeptical audiences they hoped would buy and read their books.