Unbridled passions threatened nineteenth-century America. Purifying crusaders like John W. Mears mobilized to fight every sin and carnal lure. Doyle traces the full story of Mears, and explores the ways in which Mears's multipurpose zeal reflected the passions behind the nineteenth-century temperance movement, the fight against obscenity, and the public animus toward unconventional thought.

Unbridled passions threatened nineteenth-century America. Purifying crusaders like John W. Mears mobilized to fight every sin and carnal lure. Doyle traces the full story of Mears, and explores the ways in which Mears's multipurpose zeal reflected the passions behind the nineteenth-century temperance movement, the fight against obscenity, and the public animus toward unconventional thought.