J. L. BELL is a Massachusetts writer who specializes in (among other things) the start of the American Revolution in and around Boston. He is particularly interested in the experiences of children in 1765-75. He has published scholarly papers and popular articles for both children and adults. He was consultant for an episode of History Detectives, and contributed to a display at Minute Man National Historic Park.

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Monday, July 18, 2022

Discussing the Women in Washington’s World

In 2018, Mount Vernon hosted a symposium on the theme “‘A sensible woman can never be happy with a fool’: The Women of George Washington’s World.”

That has given rise to a collection of scholarly essays titled simply The Women of George Washington’s World, officially published later this month.

The women profiled include:
  • the first President’s mother, Mary Washington
  • his wife, Martha Washington
  • wives of significant colleagues like Margaret Arnold and Abigail Adams
  • friendly advisor Elizabeth Powel
  • poet Phillis Wheatley
  • enslaved servants Moll Judge, Ona Judge, and others
  • Ann Pamela Cunningham, the woman who preserved Mount Vernon with a nationwide fundraising campaign
The editors of this collection are Prof. Charlene M. Boyer Lewis of Kalamazoo College and George W. Boudreau of the McNeil Center for Early American Studies. The book’s publisher has shared a short interview with them.

For a longer interview, Roger S. Williams will host Boyer Lewis and Boudreau in the online History Author Talks series on Tuesday, 19 July, starting at 7:00 P.M. Register to listen to this convesation live here, or check back at History Author Talks in a few days for the video.

2 comments:

Ruth Hodges said...

Is Esther DeBerdt Reed included in this book?

J. L. Bell said...

I haven’t found a full table of contents yet, though I hope one will become available after the official publication date. In the information I was able to unearth, I didn’t see Esther Reed mentioned.