The Rising Tide

"The Rising Tide" by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland is a novel about issues confronting women in the years just before suffrage. It's set in the 19th century fictional locale of Mercer, an Ohio River community that represents Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The novel tells the story of Frederica Payton, a "new woman" who illustrates the extremes of the feminist question. It was first published in installments in Harper's Monthly before its popularity warranted subsequent book-form publishing.