Zusatztext The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2013 Barnes and Noble Best Books of 2013 Kirkus Best Books of 2013 Time Magazine #1 Nonfiction Book of 2013 The Week Best Nonfiction Books of 2013 Jane Franklin's indomitable voice and hungry, searching intellect shine through these pages; she will not be forgotten, and the world is richer for it. Time Magazine, Top 10 Nonfiction Books of the Year Luminous.Lepore gives us a woman in the flesh, with no hints and hedges about what she must, or might, have felt.Jane emerges as witty, curious, and resilient in the face of unimaginable grief, yet she is not an unsung hero of the revolution, a forgotten Abigail Adams. Her importance, as Lepore's portrait memorably shows, lies in her ordinarinessher learning thwarted by circumstance, but her intelligence shaped by her uniquely female experience. We may know about Jane Franklin only because of her famous brother, but he is not why she matters. Joanna Scutts, Washington Post As she stitches together Jane's story, Lepore gives us a side of Benjamin Franklin we have never seenan evocative look at what life was like for most 18th-century women. Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly Book of Ages is the name of Lepore's extraordinary new book about Jane Franklin, but to call it simply a biography would be like calling Ben's experiments with electricity mere kite flying.The end product is thrillingan example of how a gifted scholar and writer can lift the obscure out of silence. In so doing, Lepore enriches our sense of everyday life and relationships and conversational styles in Colonial America. . . . The brilliance of Lepore's book is that plain Jane's story becomes every bit as grippingand, in its own way, importantas Big Ben's public triumphs. Maureen Corrigan, NPR In this beautifully written double biography, Lepore brings into focus not just the life of Jane Franklin Mecom, alongside that of her brother, but illuminates the dynamic era through which they lived and gives us a birds'-eye view of history from the vantage point of a powerless woman who grew up in a Boston family alongside one of the 18th century's greatest authors, entrepreneurs, scientists and statesmen.Remarkably, in the end Jane's story comes to life; we know her or at least about her. But, in fact, we know her because her life is one that we recognize, perhaps better than that of her familiar brother. That is the brilliance of this book. . . . This lyrical and meditative book ranks familiarly as a history or biography, but is more than either. . . . It descends historiographically from Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's A Midwife's Tale as a classic and enduring tribute to an obscure woman, only this one also had a famous brother. Edith B. Gelles, San Francisco Chronicle Ms. Lepore is a fantastic historian, and meticulous research brings this portrait to life. . . . In the hands of a less accomplished writer, Jane Franklin might have appeared merely a pale shadow in contrast to her brother's accomplishments. But the portrait that emerges here is both frank and astute, an observant witness to the time. Madeleine Schwartz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette To stare at these siblings is to stare at sun and moon. But in Jill Lepore's meticulously constructed biography, Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin , recently placed on the long list of nominees for the National Book Award in nonfiction, this moon casts a beguiling glow.Consistently first rate. Dwight Garner, The New York Times This book is a tour de force that can only evoke admiration. Priscilla S. Taylor, The Washington Times Go read Jill Lepore's Book of Ages . A biography of Jane Franklin, Benjamin's sister, it is simultaneously a fascinating look at ea...

*The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2013*
Barnes and Noble Best Books of 2013
*Kirkus Best Books of 2013*
*Time Magazine #1 Nonfiction Book of 2013*
The Week Best Nonfiction Books of 2013
*
“Jane Franklin’s indomitable voice and hungry, searching intellect shine through these pages; she will not be forgotten, and the world is richer for it.” —Time Magazine,* Top 10 Nonfiction Books of the Year

“Luminous….Lepore gives us a woman in the flesh, with no hints and hedges about what she must, or might, have felt….Jane emerges as witty, curious, and resilient in the face of unimaginable grief, yet she is not an unsung hero of the revolution, a forgotten Abigail Adams. Her importance, as Lepore’s portrait memorably shows, lies in her ordinariness—her learning thwarted by circumstance, but her intelligence shaped by her uniquely female experience. We may know about Jane Franklin only because of her famous brother, but he is not why she matters.” —Joanna Scutts, *Washington Post

• “As she stitches together Jane’s story, Lepore gives us a side of Benjamin Franklin we have never seen—an evocative look at what life was like for most 18th-century women.” —Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly

  “Book of Ages is the name of Lepore’s extraordinary new book about Jane Franklin, but to call it simply a biography would be like calling Ben’s experiments with electricity mere kite flying….The end product is thrilling—an example of how a gifted scholar and writer can lift the obscure out of silence. In so doing, Lepore enriches our sense of everyday life and relationships and conversational styles in Colonial America. . . . The brilliance of Lepore’s book is that plain Jane’s story becomes every bit as gripping—and, in its own way, important—as Big Ben’s public triumphs.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR

  “In this beautifully written double biography, Lepore brings into focus not just the life of Jane Franklin Mecom, alongside that of her brother, but illuminates the dynamic era through which they lived and gives us a birds’-eye view of history from the vantage point of a powerless woman who grew up in a Boston family alongside one of the 18th century’s greatest authors, entrepreneurs, scientists and statesmen….Remarkably, in the end Jane’s story comes to life; we know her or at least about her. But, in fact, we know her because her life is one that we recognize, perhaps better than that of her familiar brother. That is the brilliance of this book. . . . This lyrical and meditative book ranks familiarly as a history or biography, but is more than either. . . . It descends historiographically from Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s “A Midwife’s Tale” as a classic and enduring tribute to an obscure woman, only this one also had a famous brother.” —Edith B. Gelles, San Francisco Chronicle

  “Ms. Lepore is a fantastic historian, and meticulous research brings this portrait to life. . . . In the hands of a less accomplished writer, Jane Franklin might have appeared merely a pale shadow in contrast to her brother’s accomplishments. But the portrait that emerges here is both frank and astute, an observant witness to the time.” —Madeleine Schwartz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

  “To stare at these siblings is to stare at sun and moon. But in Jill Lepore’s meticulously constructed biography, Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin, recently placed on the long list of nominees for the National Book Award in nonfiction, this moon casts a beguiling glow….Consistently first rate.” —Dwight Garner, The *New York Times

• “This book is a tour de force that can only evoke admiration.” —Priscilla S. Taylor, The Washington Times

  “Go read Jill Lepore’s Book of Ages. A biography of Jane Franklin, Benjamin’s sister, it is simultaneously a fascinating look at early America, a meditation on one remarka…