Book of Ages, Jill Lepore
Book of Ages, Jill Lepore
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Book of Ages
The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin

Bestseller

Author: Jill Lepore

Narrator: Robin Miles

Unabridged: 11 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 11/22/2013

Synopsis

From one of our most accomplished and widely admired historians, a revelatory portrait of Benjamin Franklin' s youngest sister and a history of history itself. Like her brother, Jane Franklin was a passionate reader, a gifted writer, and an astonishingly shrewd political commentator. Unlike him, she was a mother of twelve. Benjamin Franklin, who wrote more letters to his sister than he wrote to anyone else, was the original American self-made man; his sister spent her life caring for her children. They left very different traces behind. Making use of an amazing cache of little-studied material, including documents, objects, and portraits only just discovered, Jill Lepore brings Jane Franklin to life in a way that illuminates not only this one woman but an entire world-- a world usually lost to history. Lepore' s life of Jane Franklin, with its strikingly original vantage on her remarkable brother, is at once a wholly different account of the founding of the United States and one of the great untold stories of American history and letters: a life unknown.

About Jill Lepore

Jill Lepore is a bestselling author, acclaimed historian, and staff writer at The New Yorker whose work brings the past vividly to life for today's readers. A professor of American history at Harvard University, Lepore has earned international recognition for books that weave together rigorous research, elegant prose, and a storyteller's instinct for uncovering the human side of history.

Her bestselling works include These Truths: A History of the United States, hailed as a landmark account of America's past, and Book of Ages, a National Book Award finalist that explores the life of Jane Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's sister. Lepore's books often shine a light on overlooked voices and forgotten stories, while also asking big, urgent questions about democracy, technology, and the future.

With her trademark blend of scholarship and accessibility, Lepore has become one of today's most compelling interpreters of history, offering readers both knowledge and perspective in a rapidly changing world.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Trish on August 11, 2016

It is difficult to convey the pleasure and excitement with which I read this history of Jane Franklin Mecom. Lepore carefully reconstructs the period in which the Franklins lived and pieces together the life of Franklin’s sister from fragments—using a few of the many letters she wrote to her famous......more

Goodreads review by Fran on September 16, 2024

I know that Jill Lepore has a sterling reputation as a historian and author, which makes my disappointment with this book especially keen. In brief (something the author seems incapable of being): It's bloated, with very little actually about "the life and opinions of Jane Franklin," the alleged subj......more

Goodreads review by Sally on November 08, 2013

I'm supposed to be finished with all things Franklin and working on the next book, but I couldn't resist. When people used to ask me what kind of historical fiction I wrote I'd say "small stories about big ideas." Benjamin Franklin's Bastard was first that could be called a "big story," but I found......more

Goodreads review by Michele on November 04, 2013

I will be the first to admit that I doubt my own rating. I do not usually read historical non-fiction, and I do not expect to start. What made me purchase this book was an interview with Jill Lepore on NPR. She spoke of Jane Franklin so eloquently - and even tenderly - that I felt curious and moved.......more

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