Arwen P. Mohun Livres

Focusing on the historical significance of laundries in British and American cities, the book delves into how gender influences everyday work, its division, and valuation. By examining the evolution of these "cleanliness factories," it highlights the intersection of industrialization and domesticity. The comparative analysis uncovers cultural, regulatory, and social structural differences between the two regions, revealing the surprising transatlantic nature of this seemingly localized industry.

"The work of imperialism requires imperialists. But who were the everyday people who willingly served the traditional European empires? Why did they do things that ranged from thoughtless and amoral to criminal and unforgivable? With unblinking clarity and precision, Arwen Mohun here interrogates the life and actions of her great-grandfather Richard Dorsey Mohun, an American who abetted King Leopold of Belgium's horrific exploitation of the Congo Free State. Mohun details his careless and racist use of power, revealing him as an all-too-unreflective ambassador of American corporate imperialism. She seeks not to excuse Dorsey but to understand how individual desire and imperial lust fueled one another, to catastrophic ends"--