Afterword: The Woman's Building Library and History

This afterword reflects on the articles in this special issue on the Woman's Building Library and observes that each article argues that the books held in the library speak to tensions in women's roles and shifts in women's writing in late-nineteenth-century America. These same tensions evident in the library were also evident in the presentation of history and progress in the Woman's Building and throughout the fair. Seen against this backdrop of the Columbian Exposition and the Woman's Building, the historical fiction included in the library reveals how, in the years leading up to the fair, women themselves participated in presenting narratives of the nation's history.