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Short Fiction

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About this book

A frightened narrator steps out into a fogbound city and finds the heat and noise of an ironworks. In “A Rocket of Iron,” the spectacle of molten metal gives way to a workplace disaster, while a young worker carries an injured man to help. Another story begins in a cramped alley, where a visitor waits for a laundry worker and hears the cough of her sick husband.

These short stories connect harsh surroundings with the strain of earning a living and caring for others. Effie, shaken by letters describing prisoners' suffering, returns home with her baby and hears an urgent offer of support. The man's appeal links love to practical care and challenges the burden she carries for David. De Cleyre's intense descriptions of fog, stale air and industrial fire give social criticism a physical presence, making the collection a choice for readers interested in work, poverty and the cost of neglect.

About the author

Voltairine de Cleyre

Voltairine de Cleyre (1866-1912) was an American anarchist writer, feminist, and lecturer, admired for the eloquence and integrity of her essays on freedom and social justice.