The Lioness of Boston, Emily Franklin
The Lioness of Boston, Emily Franklin
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
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The Lioness of Boston
A Novel

Author: Emily Franklin

Narrator: Nancy Peterson

Unabridged: 13 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 08/29/2023

Synopsis

By the time Isabella Stewart Gardner opened her Italian palazzo-style home as a museum in 1903 to showcase her collection of old masters, antiques, and objects d'art, she was already well-known for scandalizing Boston's polite society. But when Isabella first arrived in Boston in 1861, she was twenty years old, newly married to a wealthy trader, and unsure of herself. Puzzled by the frosty reception she received from stuffy blue bloods, she strove to fit in. After two devastating tragedies and rejection from upper-society, Isabella discovered her spirit and cast off expectations.

Freed by travel, Isabella explores the world of art, ideas, and letters, meeting such kindred spirits as Henry James and Oscar Wilde. From London and Paris, to Egypt and Asia, she develops a keen eye for paintings and objects, and meets feminists ready to transform nineteenth century thinking in the twentieth century. Isabella becomes an eccentric trailblazer, painted by John Singer Sargent in a portrait of daring décolletage, and fond of such stunts as walking a pair of lions in the Boston Public Garden.

The Lioness of Boston is a portrait of what society expected a woman's life to be, shattered by a courageous soul who rebelled and was determined to live on her own terms.

About Emily Franklin

Emily Franklin is the author of more than twenty novels and a poetry collection, Tell Me How You Got Here. Her award-winning work has appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Guernica, JAMA, and numerous literary magazines, as well as featured and read aloud on NPR, and named notable by the Association of Jewish Libraries. A lifelong visitor to the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, she lives outside of Boston with her family, including two dogs large enough to be lions.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Sue on May 22, 2023

Overall a good story, but my opinion is too much time is spent in the beginning of the book about how Isabella Stewart Gardner doesn’t fit in. The author just won’t let it go and probably 50-75 pages could be cut without affecting the story arc. I love the ISG Museum and wish more time was focused o......more

Goodreads review by Amy on March 24, 2024

Have you ever heard of a quagga? Of Frozen Charlottes? Of a card game called Happy Families from the mid-18oo's? This book was so interesting and I did quite a bit of looking things up, which is unusual for me. A quagga is actually an extinct animal, which is a cross between a horse and a zebra. Rea......more

Goodreads review by Claire on April 11, 2023

In The Lioness of Boston, author Emily Franklin makes a fascinating case for following the beat of one’s own drum. The thoroughly researched historical fiction account of Isabella Stewart Gardner deftly depicts a woman coming into her own within the confines of high-society Boston as perched on the......more

Goodreads review by Naly on February 07, 2024

Isabella Stewart Gardner’s story should be a fascinating and inspiring one, but the author missed the mark on this one. Fictional biography, even if the author doesn’t want to call it that, is tricky. The author is shaping the character’s personality with her choice of words, and that carries a lot......more

Goodreads review by Erin on May 11, 2023

ISG was a force to be reckoned with and her story is truly fascinating, but I found the pacing to be too slow throughout a lot of this novel which made it challenging for me to stay engaged.......more

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