
Smoke Signals from Samarcand: The 1931 Reform School Fire and Its Aftermath (Hardback)
Barbara Bennett (author)
£20.50
Hardback
144 Pages /
Published: 30/05/2018
- Temporarily unavailable
Email me when available
Stay one step ahead and let us notify you when this item is next available to order
Email me when available
Enter your email below and we will notify you when this item is next available to order.

Smoke Signals from Samarcand: The 1931 Reform School Fire and Its Aftermath (Hardback)
£20.50
Thank you
We will contact you when this item is next available to order.
A case study and dramatic retelling of young girls on trial for arson at a reform school
In 1931 sixteen poor, white girls-all teenaged inmates at Samarcand Manor, officially named the State Home and Industrial School for Girls, in Samarcand, North Carolina-were accused of burning down two campus buildings in protest against living conditions. Barbara Bennett not only offers a dramatic retelling of this historic case in Smoke Signals from Samarcand, but also reveals a case study of the misguided social-engineering schemes-fraught with racism, classism, and sexual stereotypes-that churned through North Carolina and other Southern states during this time.
The girls, who became known as the "Samarcand Sixteen," were described by administrators and the media as incorrigible and troublesome. Bennett reveals their grim backgrounds and details the harsh disciplinary methods, including savage whippings, that were dispensed at Samarcand and other reform schools in the early twentieth century. Arson was a capital offense in North Carolina at the time, and the girls were put on trial for their lives.
The sensational trial took place in the midst of a strong eugenics movement that was sweeping the state and the South. The girls' newly minted lawyer, Nell Battle Lewis, argued that the treatment the girls endured at Samarcand had forced them to take drastic action and therefore should result in lenient sentences. Instead the state of North Carolina used bogus "scientific" theories-such as "bad blood genetics"-to create legal policy and criminal justice practices that were heavily prejudiced against powerless people, particularly girls and women.
In the end the girls received sentences of eighteen months to five years in the state penitentiary, although the trial and its publicity did lead to improvements in the physical conditions and disciplinary methods at Samarcand and other juvenile facilities in North Carolina.
In 1931 sixteen poor, white girls-all teenaged inmates at Samarcand Manor, officially named the State Home and Industrial School for Girls, in Samarcand, North Carolina-were accused of burning down two campus buildings in protest against living conditions. Barbara Bennett not only offers a dramatic retelling of this historic case in Smoke Signals from Samarcand, but also reveals a case study of the misguided social-engineering schemes-fraught with racism, classism, and sexual stereotypes-that churned through North Carolina and other Southern states during this time.
The girls, who became known as the "Samarcand Sixteen," were described by administrators and the media as incorrigible and troublesome. Bennett reveals their grim backgrounds and details the harsh disciplinary methods, including savage whippings, that were dispensed at Samarcand and other reform schools in the early twentieth century. Arson was a capital offense in North Carolina at the time, and the girls were put on trial for their lives.
The sensational trial took place in the midst of a strong eugenics movement that was sweeping the state and the South. The girls' newly minted lawyer, Nell Battle Lewis, argued that the treatment the girls endured at Samarcand had forced them to take drastic action and therefore should result in lenient sentences. Instead the state of North Carolina used bogus "scientific" theories-such as "bad blood genetics"-to create legal policy and criminal justice practices that were heavily prejudiced against powerless people, particularly girls and women.
In the end the girls received sentences of eighteen months to five years in the state penitentiary, although the trial and its publicity did lead to improvements in the physical conditions and disciplinary methods at Samarcand and other juvenile facilities in North Carolina.
Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
ISBN: 9781611178609
Number of pages: 144
Dimensions: 229 x 152 mm
You may also be interested in...
Please sign in to write a review
Sign In / Register
Not registered? CREATE AN ACCOUNTCREATE A plus ACCOUNT
Sign In
Download the Waterstones App
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?
Click & Collect
Reserve online, pay on collection.
Please note that owing to current COVID-19 restrictions, many of our shops are closed. Find out more by clicking here.
Please note that owing to current COVID-19 restrictions, many of our shops are closed. Find out more by clicking here.
Thank you for your reservation
Your order is now being processed and we have sent a confirmation email to you at
When will my order be ready to collect?
Following the initial email, you will be contacted by the shop to confirm that your item is available for collection.
Call us on or send us an email at
Unfortunately there has been a problem with your order
Please try again or alternatively you can contact your chosen shop on or send us an email at