Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin | 
Not feeling very well today so I‘m reading this wonderful book and trying to rest before picking up my favorite doggo from my dad.
Btw, thank you to all of the #LitsyLove readers who sent me welcome mail! I‘m working on reply mail, I promise.
pickAt the conclusion of this endlessly fascinating & informative history of Jane Franklin, the beloved sister of Benjamin Franklin, Lepore writes, “...the lives of the obscure make good fiction but bad history.” Although she was Franklin‘s sister, there was little record of Jane‘s life except what was found in letters the siblings exchanged, scattered documents, & other objects. What Lepore does with those sources is as impressive as is Jane‘s story.
“If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion...”
(Abigail Adams writing to her husband in March 1776 after the liberation of Boston as the colonies moved closer to declaring independence.)
“A magazine is an arsenal of knowledge...Magazines, then, contained the great and soaring promise of the age: knowledge for all.”
🤓
Learning all sorts of interesting things reading this book.
...when science and politics went hand in hand.
Broken record here but I love this book—fascinating, well-written, and so readable. Lepore is a very good historian with the rare talent of making any moment in history interesting and well worth your time to learn about. Can‘t recommend her work highly enough.
Knowing that their parents would also read the letters he sent to his sister, Benjamin wrote things his “quick-witted” sister would understand but which their parents might overlook.
This is such a great book.
So interesting to think about how we got to the moment when spelling and punctuation mattered, when people started caring about getting it right. (Although, truth be told, I have seventh grader who still likes to spell however he pleases...)
Rainy Monday mornings call for a book and treats.
🤨
My how times have changed...
BTW, that library sounds lovely as does reading indiscriminately!
Read. All. The. Books.
So far, so good. This book is fascinating and Lepore‘s writing is, as always, fantastic. Really enjoying it.
🤨😂😏
“Reading too much spelled trouble.”
Trouble? What trouble? Nothing to see here. Nope. No reading...except ALL the time!
Can‘t even imagine...
pickJill Lepore is a f*cking genius and if you disagree - I'll fight you behind a dumpster. JK. I'm too weak. But seriously. She's so f*cking smart. This was easily a favorite book for 2018.
P.S. This really hit me in the feels as I largely read it while at the near-identical house next door to where Jane Franklin lived towards the end of her life. So there's that.
This week‘s nonfiction read is about Jane Franklin, Benjamin Franklin‘s sister. Lepore is an excellent historian with a rare talent for writing well-researched, accessible, meaningful & thought-provoking history for scholars & general readers alike. She has eclectic interests—writing on subjects as varied as the creator(s) of Wonder Woman & slavery in 18th c. Manhattan—and a great deal of curiosity about our world. Anticipating another great read.
#bewarethebookishwoman
I can only imagine how horrified Mr. Addison would be of reading women and their libraries today 😂😆😂
Time to go drool over some shelfies 😁
#MagicalMarch #WomeninHistory
One Half of the World
Does not know
How the other Half lives.
—Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard‘s Almanack
panI thought this would be a fascinating look at Jane Franklin's life, but really it just felt like a biography of Benjamin Franklin. Obviously there are bits about Jane, but there isn't enough to justify an entire book. It just kept dragging on.
pickInteresting and readable. Some of the best stuff is in the appendices.
Fun Friday Photo Time! I love reading books abt. magical realism, Southern Gothics, swashbucklers, snark, Eleanor of Aquitaine, 18th-cent. America, and badass ladies. Pictured are all of my magnificent lady history books, and they are AWESOME.
pickA wonderfully written and well researched biography that not only provides a wonderful look into the life of Ben franklin's sister, but also discusses the development of historical research and the importance of writing history. Love this book!
