Poor Richard's women: Deborah Read Franklin and the other women behind the Founding Father
Description
“An engrossing look at the human side of Benjamin Franklin . . . Using a post-feminist lens that’s critical of gender essentialism, Stuart rescues these women from obscurity . . . This is a terrific read: poignant, provocative, and probing.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review
A vivid portrait of the women who loved, nurtured, and defended America’s famous scientist and founding father.
Everyone knows Benjamin Franklin—the thrifty inventor-statesman of the Revolutionary era—but not about his love life. Poor Richard’s Women reveals the long-neglected voices of the women Ben loved and lost during his lifelong struggle between passion and prudence. The most prominent among them was Deborah Read Franklin, his common-law wife and partner for 44 years. Long dismissed by historians, she was an independent, politically savvy woman and devoted wife who raised their children, managed his finances, and fought off angry mobs at gunpoint while he traipsed about England.
Weaving detailed historical research with emotional intensity and personal testimony, Nancy Rubin Stuart traces Deborah’s life and those of Ben’s other romantic attachments through their personal correspondence. We are introduced to Margaret Stevenson, the widowed landlady who managed Ben’s life in London; Catherine Ray, the 23-year-old New Englander with whom he traveled overnight and later exchanged passionate letters; Madame Brillon, the beautiful French musician who flirted shamelessly with him, and the witty Madame Helvetius, who befriended the philosophes of pre-Revolutionary France and brought Ben to his knees.
What emerges from Stuart’s pen is a colorful and poignant portrait of women in the age of revolution. Set two centuries before the rise of feminism, Poor Richard’s Women depicts the feisty, often-forgotten women dear to Ben’s heart who, despite obstacles, achieved an independence rarely enjoyed by their peers in that era.
—Library Journal, Starred Review
A vivid portrait of the women who loved, nurtured, and defended America’s famous scientist and founding father.
Everyone knows Benjamin Franklin—the thrifty inventor-statesman of the Revolutionary era—but not about his love life. Poor Richard’s Women reveals the long-neglected voices of the women Ben loved and lost during his lifelong struggle between passion and prudence. The most prominent among them was Deborah Read Franklin, his common-law wife and partner for 44 years. Long dismissed by historians, she was an independent, politically savvy woman and devoted wife who raised their children, managed his finances, and fought off angry mobs at gunpoint while he traipsed about England.
Weaving detailed historical research with emotional intensity and personal testimony, Nancy Rubin Stuart traces Deborah’s life and those of Ben’s other romantic attachments through their personal correspondence. We are introduced to Margaret Stevenson, the widowed landlady who managed Ben’s life in London; Catherine Ray, the 23-year-old New Englander with whom he traveled overnight and later exchanged passionate letters; Madame Brillon, the beautiful French musician who flirted shamelessly with him, and the witty Madame Helvetius, who befriended the philosophes of pre-Revolutionary France and brought Ben to his knees.
What emerges from Stuart’s pen is a colorful and poignant portrait of women in the age of revolution. Set two centuries before the rise of feminism, Poor Richard’s Women depicts the feisty, often-forgotten women dear to Ben’s heart who, despite obstacles, achieved an independence rarely enjoyed by their peers in that era.
Subjects
Subjects
Biographies
Family
Franklin, Benjamin
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790 -- Family
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790 -- Friends and associates
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790 -- Relations with women
Franklin, Deborah Read Rogers
Franklin, Deborah Read Rogers, -- 1708-1774
Friends and associates
History
Man-woman relationships
Man-woman relationships -- United States -- History -- 18th century
Mistresses
Mistresses -- Europe -- History -- 18th century
Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Biography
Relations with women
Statesmen
Statesmen -- United States -- Biography
Family
Franklin, Benjamin
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790 -- Family
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790 -- Friends and associates
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790 -- Relations with women
Franklin, Deborah Read Rogers
Franklin, Deborah Read Rogers, -- 1708-1774
Friends and associates
History
Man-woman relationships
Man-woman relationships -- United States -- History -- 18th century
Mistresses
Mistresses -- Europe -- History -- 18th century
Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Biography
Relations with women
Statesmen
Statesmen -- United States -- Biography
More Details
ISBN:
9780807011300
Staff View
Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 2e8b67de-cf7e-84d0-0489-f77a620510e1 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | poor richards women deborah read franklin and the other women behind the founding father |
Grouping Author | nancy rubin stuart |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2024-04-22 19:58:48PM |
Last Indexed | 2024-04-26 05:34:51AM |
Solr Fields
accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Stuart, Nancy Rubin, 1944-
author_display
Stuart, Nancy Rubin
available_at_ashland
Ashland Vaughn Public Library
detailed_location_ashland
Ashland Adult Nonfiction
display_description
"Everyone knows Benjamin Franklin—the thrifty inventor-statesman of the Revolutionary era—but not about his love life. Poor Richard’s Women reveals the long-neglected voices of the women Ben loved and lost during his lifelong struggle between passion and prudence. The most prominent among them was Deborah Read Franklin, his common-law wife and partner for forty-four years. Long dismissed by historians, she was an independent, politically savvy woman and devoted wife who raised their children, managed his finances, and fought off angry mobs at gunpoint while he traipsed about England. Weaving detailed historical research with emotional intensity and personal testimony, Nancy Rubin Stuart traces Deborah’s life and those of Ben’s other romantic attachments through their personal correspondence. We are introduced to Margaret Stevenson, the widowed landlady who managed Ben’s life in London; Catherine Ray, the twenty-three-year-old New Englander with whom he traveled overnight and later exchanged passionate letters; Madame Brillon, the beautiful French musician who flirted shamelessly with him, and the witty Madame Helvetius, who befriended the philosophes of pre-Revolutionary France and brought Ben to his knees." -- Amazon.com.
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Book
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Books
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2e8b67de-cf7e-84d0-0489-f77a620510e1
isbn
9780807011300
itype_ashland
BOOK - HARDCOVER
last_indexed
2024-04-26T10:34:51.908Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_callnumber_ashland
973.3 STU
owning_library_ashland
Ashland Vaughn Public Library
owning_location_ashland
Ashland Vaughn Public Library
primary_isbn
9780807011300
publishDate
2022
publisher
Beacon Press
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Biographies
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790 -- Family
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790 -- Friends and associates
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790 -- Relations with women
Franklin, Deborah Read Rogers, -- 1708-1774
Man-woman relationships -- United States -- History -- 18th century
Mistresses -- Europe -- History -- 18th century
Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Biography
Statesmen -- United States -- Biography
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790 -- Family
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790 -- Friends and associates
Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790 -- Relations with women
Franklin, Deborah Read Rogers, -- 1708-1774
Man-woman relationships -- United States -- History -- 18th century
Mistresses -- Europe -- History -- 18th century
Philadelphia (Pa.) -- Biography
Statesmen -- United States -- Biography
title_display
Poor Richard's women : Deborah Read Franklin and the other women behind the Founding Father
title_full
Poor Richard's women : Deborah Read Franklin and the other women behind the Founding Father / Nancy Rubin Stuart
title_short
Poor Richard's women
title_sub
Deborah Read Franklin and the other women behind the Founding Father
topic_facet
Family
Franklin, Benjamin
Franklin, Deborah Read Rogers
Friends and associates
History
Man-woman relationships
Mistresses
Relations with women
Statesmen
Franklin, Benjamin
Franklin, Deborah Read Rogers
Friends and associates
History
Man-woman relationships
Mistresses
Relations with women
Statesmen
Solr Details Tables
item_details
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b21044053 | .i34633716 | Ashland Adult Nonfiction | 973.3 STU | 1 | false | false | Available | Aug 23, 2022 | asanf |
record_details
Bib Id | Format | Format Category | Edition | Language | Publisher | Publication Date | Physical Description | Abridged |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b21044053 | Book | Books | English | Beacon Press | [2022] | 224 pages ; 24 cm |
scoping_details_ashland
Bib Id | Item Id | Grouped Status | Status | Locally Owned | Available | Holdable | Bookable | In Library Use Only | Library Owned | Holdable PTypes | Bookable PTypes | Local Url |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b21044053 | .i34633716 | On Shelf | Available | false | true | true | false | false | true | 9999 |