I've got such an interesting, important biography to share with you today. Women's Crusader: Catharine Beecher's Untold Story, by R. Lee Wilson, is an insightful look into the life of a woman I didn't even know existed.

Once I started reading, though, I was so very grateful that Wilson has brought Beecher to life for us. Her story is fascinating; Wilson's deep dive into primary source materials is extraordinary. This is a book about women's rights, women's education, and a very personal life and love story.

Wilson is a master at making history come alive. This remarkable interview showcases that - and offers us a glimpse into the power of his book.

Highly recommended!

R. Lee Wilson is a passionate historian, scholar and former CEO. He is a retired Booz Allen consulting partner, Harvard MBA, and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of DePauw University. He was an executive vice president at Chase and Equitable Life before he finished his career as CEO of First Capital, a national commercial lender. Wilson pursued his ongoing interest in education issues by serving for ten years as a Trustee of his alma mater, DePauw. He lives with his wife, Deb, on Sanibel Island in Florida and spends his summers in Greenwich, Connecticut ,where they raised three children. Women’s Crusader is his first biography. 

We were lucky enough to talk with Wilson, and ask him about the book, inspiration, research, surprises, and more. Here’s what he had to say…

Please tell us about your new book, Women's Crusader: Catherine Beecher's Untold Story...
Women’s Crusader is the untold story of romance and grief that launched Catharine (Kate) Beecher on a new path as a champion for American Women. Kate was a pioneer advocate for women’s education and a bestselling author in the 19th century. She was the oldest daughter of Rev. Lyman Beecher, the fiery evangelist and patriarch of the nationally prominent Beecher family. Kate was a talented, fun-loving extrovert. She used her natural intelligence to breeze through school with minimal effort. She preferred music, poetry, and drama to academic subjects. 

The interesting question is: What caused a light-hearted romantic like Kate Beecher to become a consequential fighter for women’s education?

The answer was Beecher’s relationship with Alexander Fisher. Alexander was an introverted math prodigy who became a Yale professor on his 23rd birthday. In many ways, they were an unlikely couple. But they were brought together by a piece of her published poetry and their joint love for music. Unfortunately, Alexander died in a tragic shipwreck on the coast of Ireland, before they could marry. 

During her bereavement, Kate battled her father about the fate of Alexander’s soul and her own. Ultimately, she sought refuge with Fisher’s family in Franklin, MA. There, she developed a close relationship with his intellectual mother, Sally. Kate came to realize her personal lack of education. She concluded that educational deficiency was common among women and limited their potential. Beecher resolved a new purpose in life: to provide women the education they deserved. In 1823, she launched her crusade by founding Hartford Female Seminary.

This is a turning point story that focuses on an eight-year slice of Beecher’s life. There is surprisingly little written about Kate’s connections with Alexander and his family. Her relationship with Fisher was far more intimate and influential than previously believed. It became the core of my book and provided the subtitle - Catharine Beecher’s Untold Story.

What led you to write this book?
I was first introduced to Catharine Beecher in a course I took at Columbia University on the history of women in America. Beecher was an amazing woman. She was in the vanguard of female educators with Emma Willard and Mary Lyon. In 1841, Beecher became a bestselling author with her book, Treatise on Domestic Economy. Her work effectively launched the discipline of Home Economics. In 1846, she published a popular cookbook. Some have called her the Martha Stewart of the 1840s. Her success as an author made her one of the most famous women in America. But Kate’s fame was eventually eclipsed by that of her younger sister, abolitionist author Harriet Beecher Stowe. And many today have never even heard of Kate. So, I decided to write a book to raise awareness of Beecher to help her achieve the greater recognition she deserves.

I am absolutely impressed by your research into historical documents and letters. What were the challenges of finding such source materials?
The Beechers generated a huge volume of family letters and manuscripts. The key repositories for these documents are the Stowe Center in Hartford, CT and the Schlesinger Library at Harvard. Letters between Kate and her best friend Louisa Wait were particularly insightful. The biggest research challenge was actually missing documents. Not every letter was saved, and there is clear evidence that some were intentionally destroyed. Fortunately, a careful chronological reading of correspondence among people connected to Kate helped fill most of the gaps. Sometimes it was a chance comment found in a letter to someone like her Uncle Samuel that provided the missing piece of the puzzle. 

Alexander’s papers were all found at the Beinecke Library at Yale. They provided an excellent sense of his personality and wry sense of humor. The challenge with Alexander was deciphering his handwriting. It took a while to get used to his stylized lettering. Often, a first reading was required to determine the words, and then a second reading put the words into complete sentences. I discovered by chance that Kate and Alexander’s mother, Sally, read his family letters and diaries together. This insight provided a lovely sense of how these two women bonded during their joint bereavement. 

What was it like, creating such a readable history from them to the page (and to life!)?
Memorable stories about people bring history to life. What makes a narrative interesting is how the protagonist struggles with adversity and grows. Each tale about Kate begins with an action that causes a series of events which ultimately drive her character development. Kate’s relationships with her family and friends enrich our sense of her journey. A good understanding of each character’s personality is required to animate these human connections. I repeated this approach with stories about Alexander Fisher, which helped connect the dots of their relationship. 

Historically accurate details are critical to create a mental picture of events. I had to learn what life was like in the early 19th century. Social conventions and religious beliefs played critical roles in my story. I spoke to experts, read countless books, researched online, and explored many PhD theses. I discovered tide charts, sunsets, and lunar phases online. I even found a weather diary at the New York Historical Society that provided readings three times each day. 

But what I loved most were my visits to sites where the story unfolded. Armed with old maps and drawings, I visited Litchfield, Hartford, New Haven, and Franklin, MA to imagine how it felt to live there. Some things can only be learned on location. For example, when I visited the site of Alexander’s shipwreck in Ireland, I came to appreciate exactly how the tragedy unfolded and how dangerously close he came to survival. 

What might people be surprised to learn about Beecher's life?
The biggest surprise was Kate’s perspective on suffrage. She was a selfless crusader to improve the lives of American women. She did so in the face of opposition from a misogynist male establishment. Yet for much of her career, she curiously opposed female suffrage. Part of this was due to her view that education and healthcare were more important priorities for women at that time. One of the most frequent comments I get from female readers is, “I’m glad I didn’t live back then.” Kate developed a philosophy that accepted existing gender hierarchy, not because it was just, but in order to focus on immediate benefits for women. But in the end, she declared her shared principles with suffrage and embraced it. 

The other big surprise was the importance of music in Kate’s romance with Alexander. I discovered a collection of her favorite sheet music that she selected to play as a young woman. The scores provided a clear sense of her taste for romantic music. It was like having a nineteenth century version of her iTunes playlist. These were the songs Kate and Alexander performed together when they first met. Music was the emotional connection that brought them together. Both were capable pianists and their letters describe playing in intimate terms that fellow musicians can fully appreciate.

What's up next for you?
My current focus is to promote Women’s Crusader with speaking engagements. But I am starting to organize my thoughts to select another 19th century “turning point story” for my next book.

How can people find your work? 
You can learn more about my book and where to buy it on my website www.rleewilson.com