The Girl

"The Girl" (1939; 1978) is a novel by Meridel Le Sueur set during Prohibition and chronicling the development of a young woman from a naive small-town girl into a participant in a bank robbery.

Originally completed in 1939, the book was blacklisted during the McCarthy Era for its alleged Communist ideas. In the 1970s, Le Sueur modified the story, making Girl's baby a girl instead of a boy, and the book was eventually published in 1978. Feminists' interest in the novel led to renewed attention for the author.