Secrets of 26th Street

This story takes place in 1914 in New York City. Susan's mother has to take in a border to try and make enough money to pay the rent and the border is a woman named Bea. At first Susan takes a very strong liking to the woman, even when she finds out that Bea has some kind of secret.

But as events unfold, Susan finds out that Bea has been less than truthful with her, and eventually even her own mother lies to her and then suddenly disappears.

Susan needs to find out what the truth is about Bea, and also find out what has happened to her mother.

It's a truth that is wrapped up in the politics of the women's suffrage movement and the politics of New York City's Tammany Hall.

There's a historical section which explains what women's suffrage was. For those who don't know, women were not allowed to vote in the United States from its founding in 1776 all the way up until 1920. Women were basically considered not really mentally capable of voting since they were sort of hysterical in nature.

It was a long struggle for the women who wanted the right to vote, and sometimes it was violent, including when some of the women would be put into prisons and mistreated simply because they dared to think that they were the equal of men as far as rights go. It's a story that all girls should become familiar with.


Back to American Girls index page

Back to main home page index