New novel shows the journey of a woman who sues her Boston publisher for back wages

Mary Abigail Dodge, known by her pen name Gail Hamilton, was a prominent author in the mid-19th century, including here in Boston.

In 1867, she fought back against her publisher when she discovered she was getting paid less than other authors. Her real life and struggles are the basis of the fiction book called "The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann." The book's author, Virginia Pye, joins Radio Boston to talk about that history and Boston as a city.