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.
“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
“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.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“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.”
—Publishers Weekly
“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.”
—Booklist
“Poor Richard’s Women 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.”
—Old Colony Memorial
“A delightful addition to biographies and bookshelves everywhere.”
—Colonial Review
“Poor Richard’s Women 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.”
—Providence Journal
“Ben Franklin, our enigmatic founding father, continues to fascinate, and in Poor Richard’s Women, 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. Poor Richard’s Women is a treat for anyone interested in women of his time or Ben himself.”
—Betty Boyd Caroli, author of Lady Bird and Lyndon: The Hidden Story of a Marriage That Made a President
“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. Poor Richard’s Women 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.”
—Carol Berkin, author of Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence
“Poor Richard’s Women 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, Poor Richard’s Women is a must-read for anyone looking to learn more about the man they thought they knew.”
—Sheila Skemp, author of The Making of a Patriot: Benjamin Franklin at the Cockpit
“[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.”
—William Martin, author of Citizen Washington and December ’41
INTRODUCTION
1
“A Most Awkward Ridiculous Appearance”
2
“A Man and Not an Angel”
3
“Like a Faithful Pair of Doves”
4
“In the Dark, All Cats Are Grey”
5
“Kisses in the Wind”
6
The Ghost Wife
7
Home, But Not in His Heart
8
“One Continued State of Suspense”
9
“How I Long to See You”
10
“I Desire That You May Love Me Forever”
11
“By the Way, What Did You Do to That Shoulder?”
12
“Prudence Is Not Your Strongest Point”
13
“As Long As We Will Exist You Will Not Be Abandoned”
14
“We Are Apt to Forget That We Are Grown Old”
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
- “Women Who Rocked History,” South Shore Home, Life & Style Magazine, interview
- “Benjamin Franklin's Unconventional Marriage to Deborah Read,” Journal of the American Revolution, article by Nancy Rubin Stuart
- ““Remember the Ladies” — Library Speaker Reveals Ben’s Other Side,” Franklin Observer, write-up of an event with the Franklin Library
- “Books and the World: Nancy Rubin Stuart, Poor Richard's Women,” Cape Cod Writers Center/Books and the World, interview
- “Poor Richard’s Women, by Nancy Rubin Stuart,” WBZ, review
- “Spring reading: History, fantasy among 5 new books by Cape Cod authors,” Cape Cod Times, included in spring reading list
- “‘Dangerous as electricity’: Plymouth author explores the women in Ben Franklin’s life,” Old Colony Memorial, profile of Rubin Stuart and book
- “Contributor Question: What Is Your Favorite New Book?” Journal of the American Revolution, included in roundup of contributors’ favorite new books
- “Poor Richard’s Women,” WCAI, interview with Mindy Todd
- “Poor Richard’s Women: New Rubin Stuart book explores the company Franklin kept,” Barnstable Patriot, profile of Rubin Stuart and book
- “The Women in Ben Franklin’s Life Tell a Fuller Story of the Founder,” History News Network, original piece
- “Author Guild Member Spotlight: Nancy Rubin Stuart,” Authors Guild, member spotlight in March
- “Benjamin Franklin championed childhood inoculation against the deadly virus of his era,” Washington Post/Made by History, adapted essay