UMass Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press

The Radical Challenge of the Northampton Association

Book Jacket: "The Communitarian Moment" by C. Clark

Christopher Clark

An insightful study of a group of utopian reformers—women and men, black and white—in antebellum Massachusetts

"A masterful work; it is a model for how a study of an individual utopia should be crafted. Clark has skillfully pieced together the often tantalizingly obscure history of the Northampton Association to provide thoughtful, comprehensive coverage of an undeniably significant communitarian endeavor, and he has not forgotten the appropriate secondary works. Clark's imaginative and impressive research has paid off handsomely. . . . A joy to read."

American Historical Review

"Clark documents the details of the association's fascinating four-and-a-half year existence in lively, informative prose. . . . Scholars from a variety of fields will find Clark's scrupulously researched book to be a valuable and necessary addition to works on nineteenth-century communitarianism and to social and intellectual history in general. But the reading public as well will enjoy this well-written and jargon-free book that, among other things, tells a good story."

Journal of American History

"Through a careful use of recently rediscovered records of the association, Clark fashions a first-rate scholarly study that deals successfully both with the inner life of this social experiment and its place in the landscape of social and economic change."

Journal of the Early Republic

"Clark has written an important book, one elucidating the vision of some quite practical people. Eventually, bowing to continuing external adversity, the challengers retreated, the 'moment' passed. Making exemplary use of wide-ranging research in primary sources and of the relevant scholarly literature, Clark is instructive in how we remember their challenge."

Communal Studies

"Making use of the recently rediscovered (although still incomplete) account books, membership register, minutes, and outgoing correspondence of the group, . . . Clark has managed to glean from [the members'] experiences with everything from silk-making to hydropathy a compelling view of New England (and radicalism) in transition."

Civil War History

"Clark has meaningfully brought to life a period in American history when society seemed corrupt but redeemable through the efforts of individuals banded together in a utopian community dedicated to social justice, economic equality, and religious toleration."

Utopian Studies

Christopher Clark is professor of history at the University of Warwick.

American History / Utopianism / New England
288 pp., 11 illus.
$24.95s paper, ISBN 978-1-55849-416-9
November 2003

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