Glory, Passion, and Principle: The Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution [Hardcover]

Melissa Lukeman Bohrer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 2003

Much has been written of the brave deeds, acts of heroism, and intellectual prowess of the men who drafted the Declaration of Independence over two hundred years ago, yet almost no attention has been paid to the extraordinary women of that time -- women who helped found our nation with courage, sacrifice, and intellect equal to any of the famed male politicians of 1776.

Glory, Passion, and Principle tells the story of eight incredible women, each deprived of formal education, world travel, or equal status, and yet all managed to flourish against incredible odds. Whether advising such men as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, or Benjamin Franklin on political theory; publishing poems and plays that would rouse a nation to independent furor; helping negotiate treaties; acting as spies; or fighting alongside men in the military -- these women broke the limiting definitions imposed upon them, much as America was doing for itself, and helped form and found the country that is America today.

Each chapter is dedicated to a different woman, starting with Abigail Adams, political confidante and wife of John Adams. Using her intellect to influence her husband's position in the Continental Congress, she earned the distinction of being the only person to put Thomas Jefferson in his place.

Nancy Ward, the brave and diplomatic leader of the Cherokee tribe, matured from a young widow to bold warrior, risking her life and those of her people when she warned the Patriots of imminent attack by Native American tribes. She became a strong voice when the Treaty of Hopewell was signed in 1785.

Yet another bright light was Sybil Ludington, a seventeen-year-old who took it upon herself to alert her town's militia that the British were coming, and survived a ride twice as long as Paul Revere's. And where Revere got caught, Ludington did not. Alongside Ludington, Adams, and Ward, the five other chapters chronicle the lives of Deborah Sampson, Lydia Darragh, Mercy Otis Warren, Phillis Wheatley, and Molly Hays.

Filled with unimaginable heartbreak, personal sacrifice, and cunning survival skills, Glory, Passion, and Principle is an inspiring testament to the women who undoubtedly made a considerable dent in our great nation's history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Debut author Bohrer, appalled by her lack of knowledge about women's contributions to the American Revolution ("I offered Betsy Ross as the woman who sewed our flag, but after that my mind drew a blank"), decided to write a book on the subject. The result includes well-known figures like Abigail Adams and Molly Pitcher alongside some less familiar women, like Deborah Sampson, a teenager who disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the 4th Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army, and Lydia Darragh, a Philadelphia Quaker who acted as a spy for George Washington's army. Bohrer is careful to portray a culturally diverse group of women, including Phillis Wheatley, a slave who became a respected African-American poet, and Nancy Ward, a Cherokee leader who went to great lengths to create peace between white settlers and Native Americans. These latter two women's stories don't have a direct bearing on the American Revolution, but they offer a valuable perspective on the efforts and achievements of some minority women during that era. Each chapter is written in a light and energetic style, often dropping the reader directly into the action; for that reason, the book would be especially appropriate for young adults. Serious historians will find little that is new or noteworthy in this collection. B&w illus. not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

BookPage [A] thoroughly researched, fascinating volume.

Boston Herald Conventional histories of the American Revolution feature the drumbeat of the founding fathers....[Glory, Passion, and Principle] rectifies the oversight with eight spirited narratives about women who played inspirational roles in the birth of the nation.

Jennifer Lee Carrell, Ph.D. author of The Speckled Monster Evoking passion as fierce as that of its heroines, Glory, Passion, and Principle sings out history far too long left silent....An inspiring read!

Publishers Weekly Each chapter...drop[s] the reader right into the action. Bohrer portray[s] a culturally diverse group of women, offering a valuable perspective on the efforts and achievements of some minority women during that era. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Atria; 1st ptg. edition (April 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743453301
• ISBN-13: 978-0743453301
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #933,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fiction or Nonfiction?, September 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Glory, Passion, and Principle: The Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution (Hardcover)

I checked this book out from the library and was thrilled to read it. I read the first chapter and found it interesting but seemingly written for younger readers. I kept reading and came across this sentence on page 39: "Carefully, she placed the two letters with her manuscript on top of her clothes, zipped the bag shut, and walked out of her room." The person this sentence refers to is Phyllis Wheatley, a woman packing her bag for a trip in 1773. Zippers weren't invented until 1893. This left a bad taste in my mouth, and I lost interest in the book. I wondered what else could be wrong and how many liberties had been taken to make it entertaining. I never finished it, and concider it young adult fiction.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great intention, poor execution, April 3, 2005

By 

doc peterson (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Glory, Passion, and Principle: The Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution (Hardcover)

The premise _Glory, Passion, and Principle_ seeks to address: that women in the American Revolution are historically underrepresented is wonderful. Women in history have for too long been forgotten, and it was with this intent that I read this book. I was very disappointed.

Certainly the women disucssed in the book have earned recognition. But the poor writing really got in the way of my enjoying the book. As a previous reviewer pointed out, there are historical inaccuracies. What I had the greatest issue with was the switching from narrative dialogue to historical fact. Throughout the book conversations and even thoughts of these women were written about that the author could not have possibly known. For example, "The sudden click of the doornob interrupted her thoughts ..." (p. 33); "She heard the howls of a forlorn animal, a wolf she thought ..." (p 12) and so on. If the book is a history, then it ought to be written as a history. If it is fiction, then it should be written as fiction. The fact that it was written as both, (given the historical "postscript" at the end of each chapter) did not settle well with me, and detracted from the overall worthiness of the book.

Women certainly deserve to be recognized for their historical contributions. It is unfortunate that the stories of the women presented here were not written in a manner more fitting their place in American history.

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading, January 21, 2012

By 

Joyce Haworth (Midwestern US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Glory, Passion, and Principle: The Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution (Paperback)

I agree with the previous reviewers -- this is not a scholarly treatment, it is meant for the more general reader; and the historical errors like the amazing time-traveling zipper (and others) are troublesome. That being said, this is still a fun book that brings to life eight women of the Revolution.

Bohrer is a story-teller in the service of the American Revolution. In the preface she describes how she ran into trouble determining the truth of many less documented events of the war, like the story of Molly Pitcher. "If Molly is a myth," Bohrer concludes, "she is a myth that has transcended fact, a myth that has, two hundred years later, become a symbol of the revolution." She goes on to say perceptively, "Is myth a lie, or a shorthand way of recording the experience of a culture? Often myth inspires, offers a way of looking at the world we may not have seen before. The Greeks understood this intimately as they handed down the entire history through the use of myth." We in the 21st century and we are not the Greeks. Historians room uncomfortably with myth. We want to determine what portion of the myth was true, and exactly what the relation was to the true events, which is fine. But another way to look at myth is to let it be myth -- the shorthand recording of the experience of a culture.

This book is not a collection of myths. But it is a conscious telling of historical events as stories, not accountings of facts. If you can let this book be what it is, you will enjoy it and benefit from it. Perhaps it is for a younger reader and for the non-professional historian. But this middle-aged historian who has read and taught the scholarly versions uncounted times enjoyed it thoroughly for what it is. Given the invisibility of women in the records of the American Revolution (with a few notable exceptions), perhaps these kinds of stories are the closest we can get to them. Certainly, they allow us to make that vital emotional connection with them.