Mary Briggs: A Common Life

  Book News: Book Review Published 𝐴 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑛 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒: 𝐴 𝑉𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑎 from the diary of Mary Ann Mosher Briggs Review published in Summer 2023 edition of 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑜𝑤𝑎, a quarterly publication of the State Historical Society of Iowa (https://history.iowa.gov/history/publications), pages 281-282. "...Burns narrates her family history and establishes ties to the land and heritage of Iowa. She thematically examines transcriptions of many of the diary entries to show how Briggs and her family lived. These themes range from family life to land to homemaking. Each of these entries gives readers a greater insight into everyday life in rural Iowa," and "Burns does a wonderful job with providing additional information beyond the entries in the chapter, 'The World Outside her Farm.' Here she delved into a wider breadth of history and established ties between her subject and the larger national history. ...