During mid-nineteenth-century debates about workers' rights, women's roles, and American industry, editor, essayist, publisher, and "factory girl" Harriet Farley produced a body of work that documents tensions over issues of class, gender, and industry. Farley was admired by many of her contemporaries for her pioneering role as one of the first female editors in the United States and for her dedication to defending publicly the respectable character of women laborers. At the same time she offended many others by consistently defending factory overseers and their policies. Although her literary publications include short stories and poetry, Farley is best remembered for her essays and editorials that contributed to public debates. She crafted and refined her essay style over the course of many years as contributor to and editor of the Lowell Offering, a periodical written and produced by factory operatives, and then as publisher and editor of the New...