{"product_id":"poor-richards-women-isbn-9780807011300","title":"Poor Richard's Women","description":"\u003cb\u003e“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.”\u003cbr\u003e—Library Journal, Starred Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA vivid portrait of the women who loved, nurtured, and defended America’s famous scientist and founding father.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEveryone knows Benjamin Franklin—the thrifty inventor-statesman of the Revolutionary era—but not about his love life. \u003ci\u003ePoor Richard’s Women\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWeaving 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 \u003ci\u003ephilosophes\u003c\/i\u003e of pre-Revolutionary France and brought Ben to his knees.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat 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, \u003ci\u003ePoor Richard’s Women\u003c\/i\u003e 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.INTRODUCTION\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1\u003cbr\u003e“A Most Awkward Ridiculous Appearance”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e2\u003cbr\u003e“A Man and Not an Angel”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e3\u003cbr\u003e“Like a Faithful Pair of Doves”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e4\u003cbr\u003e“In the Dark, All Cats Are Grey”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e5\u003cbr\u003e“Kisses in the Wind”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e6\u003cbr\u003eThe Ghost Wife\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e7\u003cbr\u003eHome, But Not in His Heart\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e8\u003cbr\u003e“One Continued State of Suspense”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e9\u003cbr\u003e“How I Long to See You”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e10\u003cbr\u003e“I Desire That You May Love Me Forever”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e11\u003cbr\u003e“By the Way, What Did You Do to That Shoulder?”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e12\u003cbr\u003e“Prudence Is Not Your Strongest Point”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e13\u003cbr\u003e“As Long As We Will Exist You Will Not Be Abandoned”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e14\u003cbr\u003e“We Are Apt to Forget That We Are Grown Old”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003cbr\u003eBibliography\u003cbr\u003eIndex“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.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, Starred Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This readable, well-researched book will appeal to those interested in the unruly intimate life of archrationalist Franklin as well as students of the too-often-ignored roles of women in the historical record. A revealing document about early American history.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A fresh perspective on Benjamin Franklin in this revealing study of his relationships with women . . . Stuart paints a nuanced portrait of Deborah and the other women in Franklin’s life, briskly recounts the highlights of his long and varied career, and incisively analyzes the era’s gender dynamics. American history buffs will be fascinated.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Stuart has an engaging style and weaves in significant historical context. Readers will encounter illegitimate offspring, broken engagements, long silences, suspicious gifts, eighteenth-century social conventions, and unique and compelling women.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003ePoor Richard’s Women\u003c\/i\u003e add[s] nuance and context to the life of a man who appears to have valued the intellectual capabilities and wit of women while also being confounded by them.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eOld Colony Memorial\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A delightful addition to biographies and bookshelves everywhere.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eColonial Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“\u003ci\u003ePoor Richard’s Women\u003c\/i\u003e is a thoughtful and probing look at the love life of one of our most       prominent founding fathers. Stuart’s impeccable research and         entertaining writing provide an eminently satisfying read that is both       illuminating and balanced without falling prey to the salacious gossip of       the day that ensnared other historians.”\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e—\u003ci\u003eProvidence Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Ben Franklin, our enigmatic founding father, continues to fascinate, and in \u003ci\u003ePoor Richard’s Women\u003c\/i\u003e, Nancy Rubin Stuart gives the women in his life their due, showing them as real persons, with both limitations and achievements, rather than the pathetic, laughable figures so often described in books about him. \u003ci\u003ePoor Richard’s Women\u003c\/i\u003e is a treat for anyone interested in women of his time or Ben himself.”\u003cbr\u003e—Betty Boyd Caroli, author of \u003ci\u003eLady Bird and Lyndon: The Hidden Story of a Marriage That Made a President\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Nancy Rubin Stuart highlights a side of Ben Franklin too often ignored by historians. . . . Stuart uncovers a man often dependent upon women’s care and support, a man eager to be loved, and a man driven by passions as much as by politics and science. \u003ci\u003ePoor Richard’s Women\u003c\/i\u003e fills in the blanks of the life we’ve known this founding father to live and provides a necessary reminder that the women who came into his life are as deserving of our attention as Ben himself.”\u003cbr\u003e—Carol Berkin, author of \u003ci\u003eRevolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003ePoor Richard’s Women\u003c\/i\u003e is narrative history at its best, as it offers compelling insights into the character of Benjamin Franklin. Nancy Rubin Stuart rescues Franklin’s women from the margins, making them central to our understanding of a man who fought a never-ending internal battle between ‘prudence and passion.’ Engaging and fascinating, \u003ci\u003ePoor Richard’s Women\u003c\/i\u003e is a must-read for anyone looking to learn more about the man they thought they knew.”\u003cbr\u003e—Sheila Skemp, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Making of a Patriot: Benjamin Franklin at the Cockpit\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[A] fascinating and fast-paced new look at the life of Benjamin Franklin, as told through the colorful prism of the women around him. Nancy Rubin Stuart explores his longest relationships, his fleeting infatuations, and everything in between. She shines a fresh light on old Ben while giving us a new appreciation for the women, who live and breathe in these pages as they haven’t since the eighteenth century. A refreshing read.”\u003cbr\u003e—William Martin, author of \u003ci\u003eCitizen Washington\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDecember ’41\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eNancy Rubin Stuart\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning author and journalist whose eight nonfiction books focus upon women and social history. Her most recently published works include \u003ci\u003eDefiant Brides\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003ci\u003eThe Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women and the Radical Men They Married\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Muse of the Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation.\u003c\/i\u003e A former journalist, Stuart has written for the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHuffington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eNew England Quarterly\u003c\/i\u003e, and national magazines. She serves as executive director of the Cape Cod Writers Center. Connect with her at nancyrubinstuart.com.","brand":"Beacon Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46299951005925,"sku":"NP9780807011300","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780807011300.jpg?v=1767734958","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/poor-richards-women-isbn-9780807011300","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}