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
Nancy Rubin Stuart is an award-winning author and journalist whose eight nonfiction books focus upon women and social history. Her most recently published works include Defiant Brides- The Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women and the Radical Men They Married and The Muse of the Revolution- The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation. A former journalist, Stuart has written for the New York Times, Huffington Post, the New England Quarterly, and national magazines. She serves as executive director of the Cape Cod Writers Center. Connect with her at nancyrubinstuart.com.
“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
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