The tale of Benny and Jenny
Jane Mecom, Benjamin Franklin’s younger sister and closest confidante, died in 1794. Jill Lepore is writing a book to bring her back. The Harvard historian has spent years, off and on, researching the life of the little-known Mecom, who was the closest person to her iconic brother, exchanging letters with him for 63 years. Look for the result of Lepore’s labors next year in “Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Benjamin Franklin’s Sister.” Lepore is preparing a life portrait of Franklin’s peppery and persevering sibling, whose story was dimmed by time. Among other things, when Harvard President (1849-53) Jared Sparks used portions of her letters for a Franklin biography, said Lepore, “He took out all her dirty jokes.” Lepore, the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History, offered a preview of her book in a lecture Wednesday at the Barker Center. It was the first talk of the season’s American...