Beyond the Pale fol­lows the lives of two women: Gutke Gur­vich, who appren­tices as a mid­wife in a Russ­ian Jew­ish set­tle­ment before immi­grat­ing to New York and join­ing the suf­frage and labor move­ments; and Cha­va Mey­er, a Russ­ian Jew whose birth is attend­ed by Gutke. A tour de force sequence involv­ing the infa­mous Tri­an­gle Shirt­waist Fac­to­ry fire is typ­i­cal of this book’s pow­er. Both epic and inti­mate, the book takes read­ers deep inside diverse worlds, with har­row­ing and hero­ic sto­ries of mid­wifery, the Russ­ian pogroms, and ear­ly les­bian life.