A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls: Margaret C. Anderson, Book Bans, and the Fight to Modernize Literature...

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Adam Morgan

A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls

Margaret C. Anderson, Book Bans, and the Fight to Modernize Literature

Adam Morgan

$49.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Simon & Schuster
01 February 2026

Biography: literary; Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Gender studies: women; Gay & Lesbian studies

“Wholly transportive and spellbinding. I was beguiled.” —Ling Ma, bestselling author of Severance and Bliss Montage

“A fascinating account of a remarkable woman dangerously ahead of her time.” —Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians

“Exquisitely researched, deeply felt, and poignant. This one belongs on your shelf.” —Sarah Rose Etter, author of Ripe and The Book of

The life and times of literary pioneer and queer icon Margaret C. Anderson, who risked everything to be the first to publish James Joyce’s Ulysses in America. Perfect for fans of The Editor, Flapper, and Nasty Women.

Already under fire for publishing the literary avant-garde into a world not ready for it, Margaret C. Anderson’s cutting-edge magazine The Little Review was a bastion of progressive politics and boundary-pushing writing from then-unknowns like T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, William Butler Yeats, and Djuna Barnes. And as its publisher, Anderson was a target. From Chicago to New York and Paris, this fearless agitator helmed a woman-led publication that pushed American culture forward and challenged the sensibilities of early 20th century Americans dismayed by its salacious writing and advocacy for supposed extremism like women’s suffrage, access to birth control, and LBGTQ rights.

But then it went too far. In 1921, Anderson found herself on trial and labeled “a danger to the minds of young girls” by a government seeking to shut her down. Guilty of having serialized James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses in her magazine, Anderson was now not just a publisher but also a scapegoat for regressives seeking to impose their will on a world on the brink of modernization.

Author, journalist, and literary critic Adam Morgan brings Anderson and her journal to life anew in A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls, capturing a moment of cultural acceleration and backlash all too familiar today while shining light on an unsung heroine of American arts and letters. Bringing a fresh eye to a woman and a movement misunderstood in their time, this biography highlights a feminist counterculture that audaciously pushed for more during a time of extreme social conservatism and changed the face of American literature and culture forever.

By: Adam Morgan
Imprint: Simon & Schuster
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 422g
ISBN: 9781668053645
ISBN 10: 1668053640
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 01 February 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Adam Morgan is a culture journalist and critic who lives near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His writing regularly appears in Esquire, and has also been published in The Paris Review, Scientific American, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and more. He spent a decade in Chicago, during which time he founded the Chicago Review of Books and covered the city’s arts and culture for Chicago magazine and the Chicago Reader.

Reviews for A Danger to the Minds of Young Girls: Margaret C. Anderson, Book Bans, and the Fight to Modernize Literature

""Readers will savor this enlightening depiction of a little-discussed but influential figure of both modernism and queer history."" —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) ""[Anderson's] reputation endures as 'a politically radical lesbian' and champion of modernism. A lively biography of a bold woman."" —Kirkus