Although Mercy Otis Warren learned the womanly skills of sewing, cooking, and managing a household, she had other interests. She lived in colonial Massachusetts, cared about politics, and chafed under the oppression of British rule.
Fortunately her father wanted her to have an education and arranged for her to study with a local minister. As a girl she could not attend college but she read her brother's textbooks. She had a way with words. She had friends like George Washington, Paul Revere, and John & Abigail Adams. She married James Warren who encouraged her to write.
During the American Revolution she wrote and published popular plays without her name attached. And after the war she kept on writing.
Through personal heartbreak and failing health she wrote until eventually, at age 77, she published a three volume history under her name. History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American RevolutionL: Interspersed with biographical, Political and Moral Obeservations by Mrs. Mercy Warren.
Write On, Mercy!: The Secret Life of Mercy Otis Warren by Gretchen Woelfle is a picture book for ages 8 - 18. It is the story of one woman who knew her purpose in life and exercised her voice. It is a celebration of breaking free.
Write On Mercy! is published by Calkins Creek Books.
