Diva Julia: The Public Romance and Private Agony of Julia Ward Howe, Valarie H. Ziegler. (Trinity Press International, 2003).

From Publishers Weekly
Among the many wise decisions Ziegler (The Advocates of Peace in Antebellum America) makes in her revealing treatment of Julia Ward Howe's life, the most compelling is her consistent effort to let Howe speak for herself. And why not? Poet, playwright, political activist and philosopher Howe (1819-1910) was brilliantly articulate: "the soul whose desires are not fixed upon the unattainable is dead even while it liveth." If desiring the easily attainable is, indeed, death, then Howe was ecstatically alive. Ziegler's fluid narrative depicts her as the first "superwoman," juggling a tumultuous marriage to social activist Samuel Gridley Howe, the domestic strains of five children and always a desire to write and participate in the intellectual world. Her first success was a controversial book of poetry, Passion Flowers, which Ziegler meticulously analyzes. Refreshingly, Ziegler handles close readings skillfully but is simultaneously able to meaningfully discuss the larger implications of Howe's message during difficult times, especially for women. Howe was instrumental in the abolitionist and suffragist movements, as well as in the nascent global peace movement, so it isn't surprising that much has been written on her. Howe's own children wrote extensively on her remarkable life of ideas and action, but no one has been so thorough or bold as Ziegler. She moves past the apparent implications within Howe's work and avoids painting a cheery picture where there is none. Instead, she presents an honest look at Howe's personal struggles to do great public works, and her biography is the better for it. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

The Hemaphrodite, edited and with introduction by Gary Williams

"The publication of the book is one of the most exciting developments in nineteenth-century American literary studies of the past decades. It parallels the recovery of many other works by women and writers of color, but because it is an intersexual text, it also brings a new voice and perspective into scholarly conversations. . . . Howe''s writings are newly important. We are lucky that they are available to us."—Renée Bergland, Legacy

Hungry Heart: The Literary Emergence of Julia Ward Howe, Gary Williams.(Univ of Massachusetts Press, 1999). Card catalog description
Hungry Heart reexamines the early literary career of Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910), best remembered as the author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Combining biographical narrative with textual analysis, Gary Williams reconstructs Howe's emergence as a writer against the backdrop of her deeply troubled marriage to Boston philanthropist Samuel Gridley Howe. Among her early writings, Williams pays particular attention to Passion-Flowers, a celebrated yet controversial volume of poems published in 1854, as well as to an unpublished 400-page story that features a hermaphrodite as its protagonist. Williams shows how this latter work, startling in its bold exploration of sexual ambiguities, reflects Howe's effort to come to terms with her husband's intimate attachment to the prominent abolitionist Charles Sumner.

Julia Ward Howe, Elizabeth Raum. (Heinemann, 2004).

Private Woman, Public Person: An Account of the Life of Julia Ward Howe, Mary Grant. (1994).

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Biography of Julia Ward Howe, Deborah Pickman Clifford. (Little Brown, 1979).

The Story of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, Florence H. Hall. (Ayer Co., 1971).

Julia Ward Howe and the Woman Suffrage Movement, F.H. Hall. (Beaufort Books, 1969)

Three Saints and a Sinner, Louise Hall Tharp. (Little, Brown & Co., 1956).

Julia Ward Howe: Girl of Old New York, Jean Brown Wagoner. (Bobbs Merrill, 1945).

Three Generations, Maud Howe Elliott. (Little, Brown & Co., 1923)

Julia Ward Howe, Maud Howe Elliott & Laura E. Richards. (Houghton, Mifflin, 1915).

The Eleventh Hour in the Life of Julia Ward Howe, Maud Howe Elliott. (Little, Brown & Co., 1911).