About
Nancy Rubin Stuart’s seven acclaimed nonfiction books focus on women and social history. Her most recent include DEFIANT BRIDES; The Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women Who Married Radical Men and THE MUSE OF THE REVOLUTION: The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation. She is currently writing a new book for Beacon Press about the life of Benjamin Franklin through the lens of his women. A former journalist, Nancy’s work has appeared in the New York Times, Huffington Post the New England Quarterly and national magazines. She is the Executive Director of the Cape Cod Writers Center in Osterville, Massachusetts.
Featured Work
DEFIANT BRIDES; The Untold Story of Two Revolutionary-Era Women and the Radical Men They Married
2013
Two wealthy teenagers defy their parents in the Revolutionary era by marrying political radicals. The first was blonde Philadelphia belle, Peggy Shippen, “said to be the most beautiful woman in America,” who married the then patriotic hero, Benedict Arnold. The second was the stunning Boston brunette, Lucy Flucker, who married poor bookbinder Henry Knox. DEFIANT BRIDES captures how passion and marriage changed their lives of both young women – one who assisted Arnold in his betrayal of America, the other, who faithfully followed General Knox through the army camps of the Revolution while bearing and losing ten of young children.
Other Works
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The Muse of the Revolution: The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation
2009
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The Reluctant Spiritualist: The Life of Maggie Fox
2005
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American Empress: The Life and Times of Marjorie Merriweather Post
1995
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Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen
1991
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The Mother Mirror: How a Generation of Women Is Changing Motherhood in America
1984
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The New Suburban Woman: Beyond Myth and Motherhood
1982
Awards and Recognition
- The Historic 1699 Winslow House Award: Finalist in the USA Best Book Awards: American Antiquarian William Randolph Hearst Award for Research for THE MUSE OF THE REVOLUTION
- DEFIANT BRIDES was a selection of the History, Military Book Clubs Book-of-the-Month Club 2 .
- THE RELUCTANT SPIRITUALIST won the Outstanding Book Award for Nonfiction from the American Society of Journalists and Authors
- ISABELLA OF CASTILE , a Book-of the Month Feature Dividend 1992; the 1992 Author of the Year Award from the American Society of Authors and Journalists and the Washington Irving Award, American Society of Journalists and Authors;
- MacDowell Colony Fellow, 1981; Time, Inc. Scholarship, Bread Loaf Writers Conference 1980
- THE RELUCTANT SPIRITUALIST: Nominated for a New York Historical Society Book Prize in American History
Press and Media Mentions
- BookTv C-Span
- This deftly written book seamlessly weaves historical fact with narrative...a highly recommended book that is at once as readable and interesting, as it is historical and fascinating. -- Journal of the American Revolution; With the seemingly endless parade of books devoted to both founding fathers and revolutionary rascals, it’s nice to see some attention paid to the fervor with which some remarkable women navigated the romantic, political, and wartime challenges of the era. --BOOKLIST
- "Nancy Rubin Stuart has provided as complete a life of the elusive Maggie Fox as we are ever likely to have. Her evocative account reminds us how often Americans have mixed religious seeking with humbug." --R. Laurence Moore, Director of American Studies, Cornell University "Maggie Fox was one of the most fascinating women of nineteenth-century America. Nancy Rubin Stuart's narrative of Fox's remarkable life -- a mindboggling blend of girlish romance, pathological sleaze, and sacred history -- is scholarly but intimate." -- Kenneth Silverman, Professor Emeritus, New York University
- "This entrancing biography of Marjorie Merriweather Post ( 1887-1973) -- socialite, businesswoman, Palm Beach, Fla. pacesetter, opulent Washington hostess, philanthropist -- is full of high drama, gossip, scandal and international political intrigue....Rubin limns a warm, generous Christian Scientist, an imperious perfectionist mother of three daughters, a down-to-earth woman who held square -dance parties and peppered her speech with expletives." -- Publishers Weekly
- "A vibrant tribute to an enchanting lady...The biography is not only a tribute to one of the century's great ladies, but a fascinating social history of American life from 1887 when Marjorie Post was born to 1973, when she died at the age of 86...Resilident, optimistic, and marvelously genuine, Marjorie Merriweather Post seems entitled to every accolade in this vibrant and thoughtful biography. -- Los Angeles Times
- "She was rich and famous, and did it very well....it is refreshing to read of a woman who handled both enormous wealth and personal trauma with dignity, who dwelt in extravagant opulence, but gave with extravagant generosity. No poor little rich girl, Marjorie Merriweather Post. Hers was truly a rich life." -- San Diego Tribune
- "Recounts the story of Spain's greatest queen and the impact of her reign on her country and the world... a first rate exposition." -- Kirkus
- "An artful, sensitive biography of Queen Isabella that captures the woman and the era wonderfully." -- Booklist
- A look back to the old ways precedes probing of the new; single mothers, late-life motherhood, surrogate mothers, etc. Rubin is skilled at illuminating women's dilemmas, at identifying the conflicts inherent in today's mothering." -- Publishers Weekly
- "Rubin does an excellent job of describing the data that define the reality --including some surprises, such as the benefits of being raised by a single mother." --- Library Journal
- "Rubin, a writer for the New York Times, has presented a well-researched and informative study on a new trend in America life." -- Publishers Weekly
- "I salute you, Nancy Rubin, as one new Suburban Woman to another. I salute you for this thoughtful and sensitive portrayal or a changing American woman, and so...will everyone else who seeks to understand our times." -- Los Angeles Times
- "American suburban women are not about to return to the split-level world of "Leave it To Beaver." A combination of economics and feminism, Nancy Rubin argues in The New Suburban Woman, has brought them closer to their activist city sisters than to the contented suburban matrons of the 1950s...the chauffering caretaking suburban matron of the earlier era is fast becoming obsolete.--Business Week
