“In the depth of her despair, she began to question Providence. Maybe her sons had failed not for lack of merit but because they were unable to overcome the disadvantage of an unsteadiness inherited from their father. Maybe her daughters and grandchildren had died because they were poor, and lived lives of squalor. Maybe not Providence but men in power—politics—determined the course of human events.”

-- Jill LePore, writing about Ben Franklin's sister, Jane, in “The Prodigal Daughter,” in the July 8 & 15 New Yorker. LePore's book, “Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin,” will be out in October.