Revolutionary ladies

by Philip Young

The surprising true histories of some forgotten American women -all beautiful, rich and Loyalist - whose lives were shaped by scandal and turned upside down by the War for Independence.

225 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Philip Young is considered to be the first serious Ernest Hemingway scholar; indeed his scholarship brought him into conflict with Hemingway himself. In his 1948 biography of Hemingway, written for his doctoral dissertation, Young argued that Hemingway’s writing was strongly affected by an injury Hemingway received in 1918, while serving in World War I. Hemingway strongly objected to this theory, quoting him as saying, “How would you like it if someone said that everything you’d done in your life was because of some trauma?” Hemingway fought to have the publication of Young’s biography stopped, but after exchanging correspondence with Young, Hemingway agreed to let the book be published.

Young was a Harvard graduate, Fulbright Scholar and a fellow of the Institute for the Arts and Humanistic Studies. He taught at New York University and Kansas State University before joining the Penn State faculty in 1959. He was named Evan Pugh Professor of English at Penn State in 1981. He remained a professor of American literature at the Pennsylvania State University until his death in 1991 at the age of 73.

Reviews

[Lora Innes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chapter on Elizabeth Loring (aka "Mrs. Loring, General Howe's infamous mistress) was invaluable to me. The author is a descendant of hers, and his interest in his own ancestry lead him to research Betsy Loring more thoroughly than anyone else. All of the information I've ever found on her-often repeated in history books-was hearsay and legend. Young was able to track down her birth records, her epitaph, her wedding date, information on her children, a probable portrait and more. The chapter is not very long, and there is still much we'll never know, but it's the most substantially researched article on her (and also on Joshua Loring Jr., her husband) that I've ever found.

[L.B. Joramo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although not written by an historian, sometimes they make for better historical writing. The prose has a nice flow, but what I appreciated the most was the primary research performed for this book. This wasn't a book where secondary research would do for the writer, and it proved to be a surprising but excellent book.

[Hallie Southard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focused more on Mrs. Loring than anyone else, but I shouldn't be surprised, as the author had a familial connection to her. As someone that primarily reads historical books or those related to historical events, this book will not be among my top 10, but overall it was well researched. Phillip Young is a thoughtful, direct writer who doesn't stray too far afield as is the case often with books related to the American Revolutionary War when Washington is on the periphery. For that, I admire him-his ability to stick to the story, although surely he is aware of larger stories just around the other side of the tree, so to speak.

I recommend this book for people looking to find out more about women during this period, Loyalists women in particular.