History is filled with inspiring stories of people who overcame obstacles to triumph, and I am so pleased to let you know about our recent publication – “I Am Jealous for the Honor of Our Sex:” A Brief Biography of Judith Sargent Murray by yours truly.

Murray was a native of Gloucester, Massachusetts and a long-time resident of Boston where she penned dozens of essays in the late eighteenth century calling for quality female education, women’s economic, legal, and political rights, and an American nation that truly lived up to its ideals of liberty and justice for all of its citizens.

My illustrated brief biography is just over 100 pages, and available as a downloadable EBook exclusively from History Smiths.

Professionally, Judith Sargent Murray was:

• The first person to claim female equality in the public prints ("On the Equality of the Sexes," 1790).
• Considered the first woman in America to self-publish a book, The Gleaner (1798).
• The first American to have a play produced in Boston (1795).
• The most important female essayist of the New American Republic, according to leading historians.
• The earliest known female American Universalist author.
• The co-founder of a female academy (Dorchester, MA).
• The only eighteenth century woman known to have kept letter books in a consistent manner.

She was also:

• A rigorous intellect.
• A keen observer and talented writer.
• A smart businesswoman.
• A proud patriot who challenged the new American nation to live up to its ideals of equality, liberty, and justice for all.
• Unwavering in her Universalist religious views (which included equality) despite public humiliation.
• Determined to improve female education and women’s economic, political, and legal rights for future generations.
• Admired by George Washington, John Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, and many other luminaries.

Personally, Judith was:

• Passionately in love with her husband, Rev. John Murray, and his staunchest supporter (this is quite a love story…).
• A devoted mother, adoptive mother, and aunt to numerous young people, including her own daughter.
• A fiercely loyal friend and member of her extended family.
• Generous.
• Witty.
• Funny.
• Feisty.
• Resilient.
• Practical.
• Undaunted by obstacles to her gender (but annoyed that they were there).
• Quite beautiful, and one of the only women painted by both John Singleton Copley and Gilbert Stuart.

I invite you to find out more about this remarkable woman by ordering my biography , or by visiting my Judith Sargent Murray Society Web site.