This definitive edition reprints the text of Rebecca Harding Davis Life in the Iron Mills together with a broad selection of historical and cultural documents that open up the novella to the consideration of a range of social and cultural issues vital to Davis' nineteenth century. A general introduction providing historical and cultural background, a chronology of Davis' life and times, an introduction to each thematic group of documents, headnotes, extensive annotations, a generous selection of illustrations, and a selected bibliography make this volume the definitive scholarly text of this classic work of industrial fiction.