Book of Ages by Jill Lepore & Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson

The reading of two books began with one discovery. I had seen a title of a book lying on its side. Pulling it from a stack of books out of curiosity, the book was Book of Ages. It's the story of Benjamin Franklin's youngest sister, and the subtitle is The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin. In a family of seventeen children, he was the youngest son and she was the youngest daughter. As children, they were known as Benny and Jenny, and they would remain close throughout their long lives. From humble beginnings, the brother would go on to international fame and be among the founding fathers of the United States. Jane would marry at fifteen, be the mother of twelve, and spend a lifetime as a caretaker of her family. With no formal education, Jane learned to read and write and correspond with her famous brother. Their histories, their letters, and their deep affection for one another are the basis of this memorable study by Jill Lepore (The Secret History of Wonder Woman). So many women's lives in the past are footnotes in the biographies of others. Lepore share's Virginia Woolf's sense of gender inequality in asking:  what if William Shakespeare had a sister? What if she had a genius equal to his? What would have been her future? Fortunately, Lepore is able to reconstruct Jane Franklin Mecom's life story.  But we can only wonder what Jane's life might have been if given opportunities.

Also on a shelf, my own, was a copy of Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin:  An American Life. So, my reading went from Jenny to Benny. The Isaacson biography is much acclaimed and with good reason. How often Franklin is portrayed as the jester, the kite-flyer, "Cher Papa" with the ladies, the man with a ready quip from Poor Richard's Almanack. He is an easy subject for caricature. But his was a long, incredibly productive life. The sweep of that journey - as printer, scientist, inventor, political theorist, author, statesman, diplomat - reminds us that Franklin had no equal in his own time or since. Among the founding fathers, his humble start in life and his unwavering belief in democracy and tolerance helped define the country. His was a vision of  a country that would avail opportunities for all, a country where all were to be equal. Benjamin Franklin stands alone as the only person to have signed all four of the documents which helped create the United States, from the Declaration of Independence to the Constitution. Walter Isaacson's book is a reminder of a unique and highly accomplished life, a life that was absolutely vital in the early years of our country. It also happens to be an enjoyable and satisfying read.