The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear
Kate Moore
1860: As the clash between the states rolls slowly to a boil, Elizabeth Packard, housewife and mother of six, is facing her own battle. The enemy sits across the table and sleeps in the next room. Her husband of twenty-one years is plotting against her because he feels increasingly threatened - by Elizabeth's intellect, independence, and unwillingness to stifle her own thoughts. more
560 pages, Hardcover
First published Sourcebooks
4.3
Rating
26161
Ratings
4560
Reviews
Kate Moore
10 books 1907 followers
Community reviews
This book was incredibly frustrating but amazing. At this point I'll read whatever Kate Moore writes. Pick it up. more
Well I am now properly and rightly enraged. It’s seems that Kate Moore isn’t going to shy away from writing the stories of badass women that history wronged. I thought that The Radium Girls was infuriating, I had no idea how much angrier this book would make me. This is the story of Elizabeth Packard and her garbage husband who was intimidated by her intelligence so claimed she was insane and had her committed to an asylum. Only for her to discover that the asylum is just full of perfectly sane women who’s husbands didn’t want to deal with them anymore. more
This book tells the true story of Elizabeth Packard, a mid-19th century wife and mother who fought for women's rights in America. Elizabeth PackardHistorically, women in the United States had no rights. "Women. were subsumed within the legal identities of their husbands. The husband and wife are one, said the law, and that one is the husband. more
Have low blood pressure. Read Kate Moore’s “The Woman They Could Not Silence” which chronicles the life of Elizabeth Packard who was wrongfully committed to an insane asylum in 1860 because she had a different religious belief than her preacher husband. Back in that time, men could lock up their wives, daughters without trial. Elizabeth faithfully served her husband and family of 6 children for over twenty years. When her husband decided to change his religious dogma, she refused. more
3. 5 Stars“As Elizabeth put it, “I have neglected no duties, have injured no one, have always tried to do unto others as I would wish to be done by; and yet, here in America, I am imprisoned because I could not say I believed what I did not believe. ” ― Kate Moore, From What a remarkable and inspiring woman Elizabeth Packard was, an ordinary Victorian housewife and mother of six, until the first women’s rights convention was held in 1848 inspiring Elizabeth and many other women to dream of greater freedoms. She began voicing her opinion on politics and religion, opinions that her husband did not agree with. So in order to silence her he had her committed to an asylum and declared slightly insane. more
The quote "Unruly women are always witches no matter which century, " hooked me at the beginning of The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear. Kate Moore is the author and narrator and she quickly takes the reader back to the 1860s when Elizabeth Packard is institutionalized in an asylum by her husband of 21 years. Elizabeth's crime. She had different religious viewpoints than her husband who was a preacher and she was "insane" on the issue of women's rights. Elizabeth spent three years in the asylum and documented the abuses and punishments women faced while institutionalized. more
The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore was both inspirational and riveting. I listened to the audiobook that was masterfully read by the author. It is embarrassing that I had no idea who Elizabeth Packard was prior to listening to this captivating audiobook. How she slipped through history without more of a presence was hard to fathom. Elizabeth Packard was a true heroine in women’s rights. more
In all honestly, I was somewhat disappointed in the book. I loved The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women and immediately bought this book when it was released, hoping and expecting the same riveting experience as I had with the other book. While I feel the author does a good job presenting us with a woman from history that I don't think many have ever heard of, a strong, effective and courageous woman whom I'm happy to have learned about, the writing just didn't work for me. I felt the writing was too full of dramatic effect and lots and lots of quotes which did not give me that narrative non-fiction flow I love. While the first half of the book held my interest, the second half started to drag and I feel we could have had a more concise experience in that second half. more
Not enough stars for this amazing book of one woman’s strength to go up again misogynistic men in the mid-late 1800s. Elizabeth Packard wanted to use her brain for more than being barefoot and pregnant. As she started to challenge her Reverend husband he plotted to have her committed to an insane asylum. After 3 years lock up in the worst ward possible she was granted release sited as unchanged, a lost cause. Her husband continues to work to have her locked away for life. more
A million thanks to Kate Moore for bringing Elizabeth’s story to life. I was awed by Kate’s extensive research and compelling storytelling. Kate points out in her Author Note that this is a nonfiction book and that everything in it is based on careful historical research. Every line of dialogue comes from a memoir, letter, trial transcript or some other record made by someone who was present at the time. It is an incredible story. more
Elizabeth Packard is not a household name, but she should be. When her selfish and cruel husband put her away in the asylum in Jacksonville, Illinois, he thought he had taken away her voice. That was just the beginning of Elizabeth's life work and dedication to women's rights. While in the asylum she realized that women like her were not protected from the whims of men who did not want women to use their minds or color outside the lines. She was motivated to get back to her six children and also to free the women she met inside. more
Fascinating character. Entirely too long. I also felt there were so many quotation marks it became extremely distracting. I started envisioning a Saturday Night Live character telling the story and constantly using air quotes. . more
To all the women who have had someone call them crazy. 4. 5 stars. I stumbled across The Woman They Could Not Silence on Netgalley and immediately put in a request because I loved Kate Moore's last book, The Radium Girls. In a similar vein, her new book shines a light on an important part of women's history that has been somewhat lost to time. more
Kate Moore, has followed up her hugely successful title The Radium Girls with another book I'm absolutely convinced will be a resounding success. In her superbly researched work of narrative non-fiction The Woman They Could Not SilenceMoore once again demonstrates her skill at bringing the voices of women from history alive. She wrote a compelling story that alternately incited feelings of anger in me and made me want to jump with joy. All in all it provided a fabulous insight into the life of Elizabeth Packard a woman who was instrumental in progressing the rights of women and those in the mental asylums of the nineteenth century. At times I wanted to rail against the unfairness, the injustices levelled at our protagonist and other women of her time. more
"A lunatic asylum is a grand receptacle for all who are troublesome. "--a superintendent of a mental hospital. "The Woman They Could Not Silence" is a riveting tale about Elizabeth Packard who was committed to the Jaacksonville Insane Asylum in 1860 by her husband. Elizabeth was a wife and mother of six children who upset her pastor husband when she revealed her more liberal religious views during Bible study classes. Theophilus Packard was told to quiet his wife by the conservative trustees in his church. more
Inarguably, the subject of this book merits strong interest. Unfortunately, its portrayal, by means of the written and otherwise expressed experiences of a single woman, doesn’t do it justice. The proponent, one Mrs. Packard, is a goody-goody of irritating proportions who, while thinking highly of herself and in particular (and justifiably) her intellectual capacity, yet continues to display ridiculous credulity over a number of years. After her experience with her husband, the townsfolk, the asylum’s superintendent Dr. more
The Woman They Could Not Silence is the long-awaited new book from the bestselling author of The Radium Girls and tells the dark and dramatic yet uplifting and inspirational, long-neglected story of women’s rights pioneer Elizabeth Parsons Ware Packard (1816–1897), and it’s every inch as riveting and impeccably researched as its predecessor. It's a well-established fact that many of those in Victorian America who were placed into insane asylums were actually there for reasons other than having lost their sanity or their touch with reality, and that was certainly the case for Elizabeth Packard whose cruel, treacherous husband, Theophilus Packard, a Presbyterian minister 15 years her senior forced her into treatment. The objective of this was to put his wife back in her place but little did he know, her 3-year term at the facility would only serve to perpetuate and solidify her beliefs and actually helped fuel her enduring fight for freedom and equality for all women. This is a compelling, captivating and truly exquisite piece of narrative nonfiction by one of the best historical storytellers on the writing scene. It's beautifully written, rich in period detail and intricate from start to finish and I don't believe anyone could have done a better job at presenting this memoir of such an important and sadly overlooked woman who we all should be paying homage to for her sacrifices in order to further the civil rights of both women and those in involuntary medical facilities. more
A million thanks to Kate Moore for bringing Elizabeth’s story to life. As with Lilac Girls, I was awed by Kate’s extensive research and compelling storytelling. Kate points out in her Author Note that this is a nonfiction book and that everything in it is based on careful historical research. Every line of dialogue comes from a memoir, letter, trial transcript or some other record made by someone who was present at the time. It is an incredible story. more
What a harrowing story. The things this poor woman endured. How frightening that women had no rights whatsoever back then. None. What she was able to accomplish despite that fact is astonishing. more
Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS for an egalley in exchange for an honest review I am starting my #summerreading recommendations off with a nonfiction book. This is the story of an Illinois mother of six who was involuntarily committed to an insane asylum in 1860 by her husband and her fight to take on the American legal system. Meticulously researched and well-paced, Kate Moore had me very invested in the life of Elizabeth Packard. Publication Date 26/06/21Goodreads review published 03/07/21#erinrossreads2021 #readersofinstagram #goodreads #teachersandbooks #netgalley #sourcebooks. more
“Can [a woman] not even think her own thoughts, and speak her own words, unless her thoughts and expressions harmonize with those of her husband. ” Taking inspiration from the #MeToo movement, Kate Moore delved into the history of women who, more often than not, have been labelled ‘crazy’ and silenced for speaking the truth. Kate wondered if there was a woman whose perseverance, despite everything that was done to discredit her, prevailed. She found Elizabeth Packard who, in 1860, was taken against her will to Jacksonville Insane Asylum, two hundred miles from her home, because of her “excessive application of body & mind. ” The person who was responsible for this injustice was her husband of 21 years and the father of her six children. more
Wowee. I adored this. A little known area of history (or figure of it, at least) that I think everyone should know. I was absolutely hooked. Where is my movie adaptation. more
3. 5 starsVery enlightening on the rights—or lack thereof—of women in the 19th century. And how women were deemed hysterical (or too cantankerous or too obstinate or whatever their husbands or fathers deemed they were) were sent away into asylums, where they received horrific treatments and neglect from the quacks who were supposed to be treating them. It very much focuses on middle to upper class whyte women, although there is a small acknowledgement on what women of color and working/lower class whyte women faced. It was good but good gravy it was long (definitely could tell Moore did her research and then some). more
3. 5 stars It is 186o and a woman is only property. She has no control of her own children, no ownership of land, property or furnishings. Her own clothes are not her own and can be kept from her. Most importantly a woman of that day has no voice - she is expected to keep her mouth shut and defer to her husband - whether she agrees or not. more
As with Radium Girls, Kate Moore has put in an immense amount of research into the life of Elisabeth Packard. It expertly crafts a vivid image of the prejudices of the era against married women and the treatment of the mentally ill. Which leads to my main issue with the book; yes, it's focus is one woman and we see the era and point of view of this one woman, which of course had her own prejudices. At points you feel Elizabeth's passion for revolt, you understand her fight, and can appreciate the advancements she achieved. However, I feel in order to make Elizabeth a more relatable and honorable person, Moore really glances over the fact that Elizabeth Packard was a racist. more
So disappointed by this book. Spoilers:I have trouble with Moore's use of quotes. In her opening author's note, she says," Every line of dialogue come from a memoir, letter, trial record, or some other record made by someone who was present at the time. "That may indeed be true, but very often those quotes are only two or three words long, and are inserted into the author's narrative. This is cherry picking quotes, and render the words or phrases questionable since they could be taken out of context. more
The subject of this book -- Elizabeth Packard, an ordinary woman wrongfully imprisoned in a mental asylum who became a successful activist and history maker -- is a worthy one. Kate Moore's writing, however, lets Packard down and turns what should be a fascinating book into an overly long slog. It's evident that Moore wants to be writing a novel. She's melodramatic about everything, and though she has plenty of original sources to draw from (court documents and Packard's own extensive writings) she chooses to lift only dialogue from them, then surround the spoken words with over-the-top descriptors of stolen glances, catty smiles, and weary sighs. She also has an excessive love of metaphor and simile. more
Everyone should read this by book. It’s an important look back into the societal conditions women lived in during the Civil War era. Set in 1850-1860 ish, in Illinois, it’s a true story of a woman who was wrongly committed to a “lunatic asylum”, as it was referred to in those days. I’d never heard of Elizabeth Packard until I read this book. She was a married mother of six children, a religious woman who was an independent thinker, an intellectual with an unconventional mind. more
Once again Kate Moore has given us an epic to honor a woman who suffered undeservedly, and gone down through history, virtually unknown. Elizabeth Packard, devoted wife to pastor Theophilus Packard for 21 years, and mother of their six children, was committed to an insane asylum by her husband, merely because she disagreed with him in Bible class. In 1860, men could easily commit their wives to asylums for the most innocuous reasons. Ms. Moore includes an historical chart with what was considered, 'causes of insanity,' such as sunstroke, reading a novel, 'domestic troubles' and such. more