American Gold Digger

“Well organized and researched, analyzing how attitudes toward women’s changing roles in society during specific eras (e.g., the 1920s, WW II, the 1960s) affected the gold digger stereotype. It includes an impressive bibliography and useful endnotes.”—CHOICE

“Donovan demonstrates how the gold digger stereotype emerged and reappeared over the course of the twentieth century as both comic relief and grave threat to the family. Donovan’s attention to the racial politics of the gold digger stereotype mark an important contribution to histories that link the production of heterosexuality with the history of racial formation.” — Rebecca L. Davis, author of More Perfect Unions: The American Search for Marital Bliss

“Brian Donovan has found a surprisingly original subject; the gold digger clearly deserves her time in the historical spotlight. Donovan is a first-rate storyteller — American Gold Digger successfully walks the line between analytical rigor and ease of reading.” — Kristin Celello, author of Making Marriage Work: A History of Marriage and Divorce in the Twentieth-Century United States