MARGARET FULLER A New American Life

Cynthia Barrett’s witty, intelligent narration enlivens Marshall’s 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Margaret Fuller. Fuller, a lesser-known writer during the Transcendentalist Movement, was a precocious child, a remarkable young woman, Emerson’s close friend, and Thoreau’s first editor. She was a fierce advocate for women’s rights, a tireless worker for prison reform, and, as a journalist for Horace Greeley’s New-York Tribune, wrote many front-page editorials denouncing the terrible conditions in mental hospitals. Barrett’s consistently listenable narration turns Fuller’s private journals and letters into insightful cultural commentary on the period. Barrett brings humanity to Marshall’s impeccable research, introducing an extraordinary woman whose life was shaped by her struggle for gender equality and touched by joy, scandal, and tragedy. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2014]