Press Release

for
GLORY, PASSION AND PRINCIPLE:
The Story of 8 Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution

By Melissa Lukeman Bohrer

published by Simon & Schuster/Atria Books ( Hardcover and Trade Paperback editions)

 

 


Nominated for the 2004 Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award

A Selection of the Katonah Museum 2003 Fall Panel


When students and citizens speak of the American Revolution the names that come to mind—John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Paul Revere among others—overwhelmingly belong to men. What about the committed and courageous women of 1776? Shouldn’t everyone know the names and stories of the women whose contributions to the fight for our nation’s freedom rival those of any of their male counterparts?

On the heels of the sixteenth annual U.S. Women’s History Month, GLORY, PASSION AND PRINCIPLE: The Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution (Atria Books; April 29, 2003; $24.00) introduces readers to eight women who transcended daunting obstacles, took grave risks, and played a pivotal role in the birth of the United States. Masterfully combining meticulous scholarship with a gift for narrative drama, Melissa Lukeman Bohrer brings these women to life—as individuals and as true Patriots.

"There have been great women throughout history, but the women of America, of this period in particular, seem especially forgotten, as the Revolution is continually attributed to the founding ‘fathers.’ This one-sided version of history needs to be amended, as history is not just passive, dead knowledge—we proceed in our future based on our past," Bohrer asserts. "It is necessary for our daughters to know of women who lived their lives with power and influence—and it is also necessary for us as women today."

In eight illuminating and riveting chapters, GLORY, PASSION AND PRINCIPLE: The Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution celebrates:

  • Sybil Ludington, the brave and determined sixteen-year-old who rode on horseback for a staggering forty miles—more than twice the total traversed by Paul Revere—to alert the Patriots of the New York Highlands that the British were coming from Danbury.

  • Phillis Wheatley, the young girl sold to a prominent Boston family who used her gift for poetry to express the grief of a nation in a time of war—as well as voiced her own outrage at the injustice of slavery—and became the first published African American.

  • Abigail Adams, first advisor, who continually shared her views on matters of politics and policy with her husband, President John Adams, while tirelessly working behind the scenes for the rights of women.

  • Mercy Otis Warren, the prolific, influential, and anonymous playwright who roused the spirits of American soldiers and anti-British sentiment with her daringly authentic and brilliantly biting works of political satire.

  • Lydia Darragh, the Quaker housewife—soft-spoken, frail, and nearly fifty—who served tea to the British commanders and claimed her Philadelphia home as their headquarters while quietly spying on them and covertly communicating their plans to attack the Patriots.

  • Molly Pitcher, the legendary heroine who fought with the men on the battlefield as a compatriot and sister-in-arms—plus a glimpse of the real-life women behind the myth, Mary Hays McCauley and Margaret Corbin.

  • Deborah Sampson, the New York farm girl who narrowly escaped the deadly wrath of the British, boldly disguised herself as a man, and enlisted in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army.

  • Nancy Ward, a great female warrior and the proud leader of the Cherokee tribe who became a key architect of the Treaty of Hopewell, was willing to risk her life for her land and the cause of freedom.

GLORY, PASSION AND PRINCIPLE is an inspiring tribute to eight quintessential American women.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melissa Lukeman Bohrer traces her own lineage back to the Mayflower. A former columnist for The Brooklyn Heights Press, she now combines writing with the role of mother to her two young daughters and one son. A graduate of Columbia University and Brooklyn Law School, she lives in Scarsdale, NY.

GLORY, PASSION AND PRINCIPLE
The Story of Eight Remarkable Women at the Core of the American Revolution
By Melissa Lukeman Bohrer
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: April 29, 2003
Price: $24.00
ISBN: 0-7434-5330-1

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