Mary Lafayette Robbins opens her introduction by noting that "The making of this book has been a labor of love." Her goal is to make known the achievements of Alabama women in intellectual development, specifically literature. By page two her agenda is clear, however. She is critical of the whole "new woman" concept then current in America that promoted the idea women could move beyond their "proper environment." Robbins then promotes the idea that literary clubs and literature are good fits for the "capacities and limitations of woman."
Developments of the day, the suffrage movement, single women working outside the home and even riding bicycles really put the fear in promoters of the status quo.
Robbins does make important observations about Alabama women and "the world of letters":
At least Robbins doesn't object to higher education for women.
Several female authors became well-known in Alabama between the end of the Civil War and the early 1900s. These include poets Maria Howard Weeden [1846-1905], Zitella Cocke [1840-1929], and Martha Young [1862-1941]. Weeden was also an artist noted for her watercolor portraits of former slaves. Elizabeth Bellamy [1837-1900] wrote poetry, short fiction and novels that were more realistic than much of postwar Southern literature that romanticized the antebellum South. Louise Clarke Pyrnelle [1850-1907] wrote popular children's literature that did portray slavery in a positive way.
The book has two parts, information on the clubs and some selections of literature by Alabama women. The selections include poetry, fiction, and essays; some are complete, others are excerpts. A few examples of the literary clubs and selections are below the introduction.
I've discovered nothing about Robbins beyond this book. On page 6 she is mentioned in the entry on the Alabama Federation of Literary Clubs. On April 17, 1895, representatives of several clubs from around the state met in Birmingham "in the parlors of the Presbyterian church on the South Highlands, one of the aristocratic suburbs." They discussed forming that federation. Robbins, from Selma, "read a strong paper in favor of the movement." The association was organized that day, and Robbins elected President.
The club listing begins with the Alabama Federation of Literary Clubs and includes many local societies.
