THE BEECHER SISTERS by Barbara A. White

The Beecher sisters - Catharine, Harriet, and Isabella - were three of the most prominent women in nineteenth-century America. Daughters of the famous evangelist Lyman Beecher, they could not follow their father and seven brothers into the ministry. Nonetheless, they carved out pathbreaking careers. Catharine Beecher founded the Hartford Female Seminary and devoted her life to improving women's education. Harriet Beecher Stowe became world famous as the author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Isabella Beecher Hooker was an outspoken advocate for women's rights. This engrossing book is a joint biography of the sisters, whose lives spanned the full course of the nineteenth century, from the birth of Catherine in 1800 to the death of Isabella in 1907. The book offers a vivid reexamination of these three extraordinary lives and the tumultuous century that they played a significant role in shaping. 2003 hardcover, 399 pages.