Poor Richard's Women

This readable, well-researched book . . . A revealing document about early American history. -Kirkus Reviews 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 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 In Poor Richard's Women, Nancy Rubin Stuart highlights a side of Ben Franklin too often ignored by historians. As we follow his relationships with women, 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 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 on the role of women in a tumultuous time, when new nations rose and old kingdoms retreated. -William Martin, author of Citizen Washington and December '41