LUCRETIA MOTT

Mott may be best known as one of the founders of the women's movement, but she really spent most of her life fighting for the abolition of slavery. This serviceable biography puts her work in the context of her personal life and the politics of the era in which she lived. Bryant (Marjory Stoneman Douglas, 1992, etc.) makes clear to readers the connection between Mott's later work and her upbringing in a strong Quaker community on Nantucket, where the belief that all people were equal was put to practical use: The men were so often away at sea that the island's affairs were largely left up to the women. As a result, Mott received a good education at a time when most girls only learned their letters and numbers. Bryant ably limns the dilemma for a person who believes in equality but risks economic and social distress to live by that belief. She also provides a picture of 19th-century attitudes, politics, and lifestyles. Useful. (b&w photos, not seen, bibliography) (Biography. 10-14)