Nancy's Reviews > Founding Mothers

Mixed bag review. The content definitely held my interest. Roberts writes about the heroic women, who were involved in the revolution and establishment of our early American government due to some relationship with a ‘founding father,’ be they a wife, daughter, sister, mother or friend. Her narrative is straightforward, with her signature humorous asides. Listening to her narration brought back fond memories of her commentaries on NPR. It was fascinating to read, especially considering so much of Robert’s research seemed to be derived from correspondence. It was replete with quotations from letters. The sacrifices made by these women, unavoidable under the circumstances, were remarkable. Long overseas absences of spouses as ambassadors and envoys, they were forced to manage homes and farms at a time when women held little rights or power. There was little to no timely correspondence. Women endured frequent pregnancies and infant deaths. Often separated from their children so they could accompany their husbands on war campaigns, they were called upon to make contributions to the troops of goods and services. I found her chronicles of their lives entirely humbling. In particular Abigail Adams was an impressive voice, for her fortitude and patience with her husband’s duties and for women’s rights and education. At the same time I lost respect for Benjamin Franklin, who took his wife much for granted and basically abandoned her while living in Paris for years at a time, admittedly enjoying the delights of French women. Roberts touches on the now infamous Schyler sisters - thanks to Alexander Hamilton. And who REALLY invented the cotton gin!? Kitty Greene or Eli Whitney.

HOWEVER… Do NOT try to do WhisperSync between your Kindle and Audible versions. This was a complete train wreck. There are entire sections of the Kindle version that don’t appear in Audible. Sometimes mere sentences, other instances, paragraphs and pages. The deeper I got, I neither wanted to miss these omissions nor give up the author’s own reading. Nowhere does it say the Audible is an abridged version. The beginnings and endings of chapters don’t match up. Chapters were laid out on a timeline but the content didn’t always match the dates - at least in the Kindle edition. Plus the accounts are mostly sequential, but not always, enough to be frustrating. While there is no clear reason for this mess, I would lay some blame on the editing. There were so many names, including similar first/surnames or familial connections, such that it was at times confusing. It felt at times like it jumped helter skelter between historical figures and times.

5 for historical interest, 3 for narrative accessibility and a 1 for logistical and editorial nightmares!!