Book of Ages

August 5, 2013
Younger sister of the estimable Benjamin, Jane Franklin was born in Boston in 1712 and passed 82 years later. Doting brother Ben tutored the little girl in reading and writing—until he ran away from home at age 17—and she learned housewifery from her mother while getting a primer on the candle-making business from her father. At 15 and possibly already pregnant, Jane married Edward Mecum, a saddler so poor that he moved into the Franklin family home after the wedding. Ben Franklin, busy with the politics of the Revolution, seldom returned to Boston, and Jane, immersed in childrearing, rarely left it. Still, they remained close through correspondence, discussing current events as well as family business. Historian Lepore (The Mansion of Happiness), who has a knack for crafting a beautiful, inventive, and accessible story, has delicately and creatively pieced together a biography of Jane Franklin, despite a lack of surviving letters—Jane wrote little else, except for a small hand-stitched book in which she recorded the births and deaths of her 12 children. Lepore, in revealing the affectionate, respectful relationship between Ben and Jane, provides an invaluable view of the lives men and women led in 18th-century America.

Starred review from August 1, 2013
New Yorker writer Lepore (History/Harvard Univ.; The Story of America, 2012) masterfully formulates the story of Benjamin Franklin's youngest sister, who will be virtually unknown to many readers, using only a few of her letters and a small archive of births and deaths. Jane Franklin Mecom (1712-1794) did not come into her own until she was widowed in 1765; at the time, widows possessed greater rights than married women. The first existing letter in her own hand was written when she was 45 years old. Of course, it helps that her letters were to her brother, one of the most significant figures of the time period. "He became a printer, a philosopher, and a statesman," writes the author. "She became a wife, a mother, and a widow...[who] strained to form the letters of her name." Benjamin's references to her missives helped Lepore gain at least a partial picture of a little-educated woman who nonetheless showed a great mind capable of deep opinions. She was also very lucky in that her brother looked after her needs, eventually giving her a house of her own and providing her with books. Women were taught to read but not to write, so spelling and punctuation are random. Since the letters quoted in this book are unedited, the narrative pace occasionally slows, but the author's reasons become clear once she shows the result of some dastardly editing by Jared Sparks, who was famed for amassing some of the most important documents of the period relating to Franklin and George Washington. An appendix shows how Sparks' heavy-handed pencil drastically changed the meanings of many of the letters. Jane Franklin was an amazing woman who raised her children and grandchildren while still having the time to read and think for herself. We can only see into her mind because her correspondent was famous and because a vastly talented biographer reassembled her for us.

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Starred review from September 1, 2013
Award-winning historian, Harvard professor, and New Yorker staff writer Lepore, whose The Mansion of Happiness (2012) was a Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction finalist, was intrigued to learn that Benjamin Franklin and his youngest sister, Jane, were so close they were called Benny and Jenny. Renowned, world-traveling brother and obscure, homebound sister exchanged loving, newsy, bantering letters for more than 60 years. Most of his were preserved, while three decades' worth of hers disappeared. This near-erasure, along with the gender bias that determined the vast differences in the siblings' education, opportunities, and experiences, become as much a focus in this zestfully rigorous portrait as Jane herself. The most poignant artifact Lepore unearthed was Jane's handmade Book of Ages, recording the birth of her 12 children and, excruciatingly, the eventual deaths of all but one of them. In spite of the tragedies she endured, Jane's surviving letters are gabby, frank, and vexed, the correspondence of a smart, witty, hardworking woman who loved best books about ideas, reveled in gossip, expressed impolite opinions on religion and politics, and shared piquant observations of the struggle for American independence. By restoring Jane so vividly to the historical record, Lepore also provides a fresh, personal perspective on Benjamin. And so extraordinarily demanding was her research, even the appendixes in Lepore's vibrantly enlightening biography are dramatic. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Lepore's stature grows with each book, and this first telling of a remarkable American story, supported by a national tour and generous print run, is destined for an even greater readership.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

May 15, 2013

A Bancroft Prize winner and chair of Harvard's history and literature program, Lepore offers a study of someone virtually unknown--Jane Franklin, the sister of Benjamin Franklin and one of his closest confidantes. Lepore draws on recently discovered documents, objects, and portraits to tell her story, which inevitably limns not just an unusual woman but an unusual time in American history.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2013

Jane Franklin Mecom and her older brother, Benjamin Franklin, shared a strong mutual affection and engaged in a lifelong correspondence. Drawing from their letters and those of other family members, scant public records, and Mecom's chronicle of family births, marriages, and deaths, Lepore (history, Harvard Univ.; The Mansion of Happiness), a Bancroft Prize winner and New Yorker staff writer, not only fills in details of Benjamin Franklin's life but, more important, brings Mecom to life in her own right. Mecom was a relentlessly persevering, resourceful, and loving sister, wife, and mother of 12. She endured endless financial and emotional hardship, surviving through Franklin's (and others') generosity and outliving almost everyone she loved. She had little time or opportunity to flex her intellect but loved reading and offering her political opinions in her senior years. Many of her letters were lost; without her famous brother, Jane, like so many other poor and uneducated women, would have remained in obscurity. She believed, however, that every human life mattered, and Lepore's depiction reveals her worth to her family members and in the context of history. VERDICT This book is an important, inspiring portrait of a determined and faith-filled woman who just happened to be the sister of a big shot. It will be enjoyed by all readers. [See Prepub Alert, 4/15/13.]--Margaret Kappanadze, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2013

Jane Franklin Mecom and her older brother, Benjamin Franklin, shared a strong mutual affection and engaged in a lifelong correspondence. Drawing from their letters and those of other family members, scant public records, and Mecom's chronicle of family births, marriages, and deaths, Lepore (history, Harvard Univ.; The Mansion of Happiness), a Bancroft Prize winner and New Yorker staff writer, not only fills in details of Benjamin Franklin's life but, more important, brings Mecom to life in her own right. Mecom was a relentlessly persevering, resourceful, and loving sister, wife, and mother of 12. She endured endless financial and emotional hardship, surviving through Franklin's (and others') generosity and outliving almost everyone she loved. She had little time or opportunity to flex her intellect but loved reading and offering her political opinions in her senior years. Many of her letters were lost; without her famous brother, Jane, like so many other poor and uneducated women, would have remained in obscurity. She believed, however, that every human life mattered, and Lepore's depiction reveals her worth to her family members and in the context of history. VERDICT This book is an important, inspiring portrait of a determined and faith-filled woman who just happened to be the sister of a big shot. It will be enjoyed by all readers. [See Prepub Alert, 4/15/13.]--Margaret Kappanadze, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.