The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism

By Megan Marshall

Book Overview

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST: "A stunning work of biography" about three little-known New England women who made intellectual history (New York Times). This book is highly recommended for students and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618711694
• ISBN13: 9780618711697
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Length: 624 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.4" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Finish this very fine book

Just finished this unfinished tripartite biography. The writing is good, really good, but this is only Volume 1. Where is the promise of Vols 3 and 4? I did really enjoy this story of 3 enlightened sisters, enlightened mother -- and the details of post-Revolutionary Boston. What I missed were the details of 'ever-day' life for a woman, married, unmarried, finally married -- what it was like on a physical/human scale (toilet facilites, dealing with feminine hygiene, sex, lack of sex, so-on). If one reads a recent biography of Jane Austen, the 'stuff' of her life is all there -- though so much less is known of Austen. So, why not include the facts of daily life for the Peabody women whose thoughts and courage were noble beyond belief. Well, I shouldn't complain. I enjoyed this book so much and wish that it will have a sequel.

Exceptional Biography of Exceptional Women

Marshall has managed to bring to life three exceptional New Englanders who were involved in both the Transcendentalist movement and changing nature of children's education that occurred in the mid-eighteenth century. Though this biography, which follows the entwined lives of the Peabody sisters, could have been an overwhelming tome that detailed every aspect of the sister's lives, Marshall instead presents us with a very clear theme and follows Elizabeth, Mary and Sophia on their path to adulthood. This book, wisely I think, stops after the marriage of Mary to Horace Mann. At that point, the sisters are no longer such an integral part of each other's lives and are not dependent on the each other for their financial well being. To go on and chronicle their married (or in Elizabeth's case, single) lives, would have taken away from the cohesiveness of the work. Marshall's writing is excellent and her understanding, and apparent love, for her subjects comes through with every chapter. Though Marshall has great respect for the objects of the book, it never overshadows the story. Each woman has her own flaws, as do the great men that they come into contact with. And Marshall resists the temptation to do a full psychoanalysis of her subjects. She does analysis their behavior but it never goes beyond the simple historical analysis that makes any good biography worth reading. Marshall's attention to the world around the Peabody sisters is an added highlight to the book. Boston and its environs were important in the lives of the sisters and Marshall does an excellent job of describing the area in the mid-eighteenth century. In some ways, this book sheds as much light on the changing nature of New England, with the advent of Unitarianism, the focus on public education, and the creation of the ideal that many people think of when they imagine Louisa May Alcott's Concord, as it does the lives of the three sisters. Overall an excellent book - well written and well paced. History buffs, especially those interested in women's studies or the history of New England, will find this a pleasant and informative read. It is also very accessible to a reader with little or no historical background. In a side note - as I was reading this book, I had this desire to go back and reread Little Women; there was something about the Peabody sisters that reminded me of the March sisters. After I finished Marshall's biography, I did read Alcott's book (and watched the latest movie version with Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon) and I was amazed at how similar the fictional lives of the March sisters were to the real lives of the Peabody sisters. It proved to be an interesting side note to a pleasurable reading experience.

A delightful read!

Rarely does a work of non-fiction captivate me so! I've been surprised to find myself thinking about our heroines throughout the day, and looking forward to reading a chapter each night. I believe Marshall is a master at her craft. I recommend this book not only to anyone interested in feminism, American history, and Boston, but also to anyone who just enjoys a good read. Call me a nerd, but I say, Ladies, throw down your chick lit, and pick up The Peabody Sisters!

A wonderful read of three amazing women. 4.5 stars

Oxen-like in size, this is a delight of a historical biography. The Peabody sisters are three extraordinary women well worth getting to know, which you will, intimately, in Megan Marshall's fantastic portrait of Elizabeth, Mary, and Sophia. Particularly with Elizabeth, the eldest and most influential, Murphy goes into such detail that it's as if the two were best friends. Innumerable letters and journal entries are quoted tirelessly (it inspires one to keep better record of one's own life), and you will be amazed at how thoughtful and brilliant Elizabeth was. The company she kept is a who's who of Boston's elite: tutored by Ralph Waldo Emerson, befriended by a famous Boston minister who used their discussions faithfully as the basis for his popular sermons, and personal friend of a Harvard University president who allowed her to peruse his bookshelf whenever she wanted--and all this before age twenty! Next is beautiful Mary, who learned early on to use her looks to her advantage, though unable to penetrate her older sister's shadow; and Sophia, the youngest, a notable artist who was crippled by headaches for much of her life, but was stronger than anyone gave her credit for. Mary eventually married Horace Mann, Sophia became Mrs. Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Elizabeth never married, though it was she who befriended Mann and Hawthorne before either of her sisters knew the men. The book focuses mainly on the sisters' lives pre-marriages and their academic achievements and contributions to the Romantic Movement, not the family drama, though there is a decent enough helping of the latter that no one will feel cheated out of a good story. Though not wealthy--often the Peabody family hovered near poverty, especially in early years--and denied college educations because of their sex (though that hardly seems to have handicapped them; each learned numerous languages, read with a vengeance, and developed learned opinions on virtually everything), the sisters transcended their social position and lack of formal education to became some of the most influential, powerful women of the time. It's too bad that they are not more well-known and celebrated than they are; only two books in recent literary history have been written about these great women, while biographies of Nathaniel Hawthorne, by comparison, are numerous. I must add that I had always thought of Hawthorne as a rather grim, foreboding man; through love letters to Sophia contained in "The Peabody Sisters," I now see him as a much more happy-go-lucky, humorous literary figure. "The Peabody Sisters" is a book ten years in the making and is clearly a labor of love for the author. It is meticulously documented, even for a 450+-page biography (there are over 100 pages of notes that aren't required reading). Though I wouldn't call it a riveting read, the sisters' lives were fascinating and make for a very good book. Parts drag on--the first 80 pages were slow--but it is an inspiring read, one definitel

Detailed, deep, and well worth diving into

Not since 1950 and Louise Hall Tharp's book "The Peabody Sisters of Salem" has any author tackled the daunting task of writing a collective biography of these women. It's almost difficult to believe that Tharp and Marshall used some of the same personal letters as source material. For this new offering is the masterpiece, a Rolls Royce to Tharp's tricycle. No wonder it took decades to assemble and complete. Though the sisters had three younger brothers, the accomplishments of the men pale in comparison with those of the women. Elizabeth (1804-1887) was a teacher, writer, publisher, and encouraging friend (and never more than that) to many of the Transcendentalists and their crew. Mary (1806-1887) was the beautiful one, another teacher, who set her sights early on snagging Horace Mann as a spouse (and eventually succeeded). Sophia (1809-1871) was the invalid artist who found her creative dream partner in husband Nathaniel Hawthorne. All were inspired by the example set by their mother, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (1778-1853), whose liberal and feminist ideals are in retrospect more suggestive of the late 20th century, and not of her own time. The Peabodys were not among the financially elite Bay-Staters, but they seemed to have their fingers on the pulse of the commonwealth and on the trends of the country. Framed at beginning and end by Sophia and Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1842 wedding, this volume is one of the most detailed narrative chronicles of familial correspondence you're apt to read in your lifetime. It's never tedious, simply all-encompassing. The very words of the individuals themselves are so revealing, so personal. We can tap into their emotions of the moment: their joys, sorrows, angers, jealousies, misunderstandings, and hopes. After just a few chapters, the reader comes to KNOW these women and their fellow correspondents. The text is supplemented with b & w portraits of every major character in this real-life drama, giving us a chance to truly SEE them. Those were the days when people wrote and sent letters, then read the answers aloud to drawing-room audiences of friends and relatives. A different time indeed. Though I and other reviewers elsewhere have given this book a high rating, it won't be for everyone. It's highly recommended for students (both casual and formal) of American history, American literature, and women's studies. Marshall's "The Peabody Sisters" is a wonderful dip into 19th-century life. It can be a culture shock to close the covers, blink your eyes, and return to the 21st century.