Jill lepore is the david woods kemper 41 professor of american history at harvard university and a staff writer at the new yorker. After reading jill lepores book the secret history of wonder woman, you will not be surprised that the amazon princess has struggled so long to get a shot at the big screen. The secret history of wonder woman by jill lepore the. Lepore fully tells marstons history for the first time, as well as the complete history of how so many crisp feminist ideas made their way into wonder woman. In reading jill lepores newest book, the secret history of wonder woman i have some of the same uncertainties, but as baum had done, lepore proposes many ideas that should provoke animated discussion. Wonder woman, writes lepore historyharvard univ book of ages. The freaky, fabulous, feminist secret history of wonder woman. The secret history of wonder woman, by jill lepore times. Jill lepore born august 27, 1966 is an american historian. The freaky, fabulous, feminist secret history of wonder woman jill lepores new book about wonder woman reveals the unconventional life of. Jill lepore is a bit of a wonder woman herself, certainly a wonder of a historian. She fights for womens rights, access to birth control, free love, and the importance of polyamory. On the other hand, the secret history of wonder woman is fundamentally a biography of wonder womans largerthanlife and vaguely creepy male creator, william moulton marston. Wonder woman, lepore argues, is the missing link in the history of the struggle for womens rights a chain of events that begins with the womens suffrage campaigns of the early 1900s and ends with the troubled place of feminism a century later.
The secret of womans allure, he told a comicbook colleague, after. The secret history of wonder woman by jill lepore books. The veil that has shrouded wonder womans past for seven decades hides beneath it a crucial story about comic books and superheroes and censorship and feminism. Like every other superhero, wonder woman has a secret identity. Lepores thesis revolves around the life of william moulton marston, the creator of wonder woman, the character he developed, and the ideas. The secret history of wonder woman by lepore, jill ebook. Jill lepore reveals the secret history of wonder woman cbr. Topics history, comics, graphic novels, feminist theory. A panel depicting this labor unrest is just one of scores that appear throughout lepores book, further amplifying the. Jill leporeis the david woods kemper 41 professor of american history at harvard university and a staff writer atthe new yorker. Wonder woman, lepore argues, is the missing link in the history of the struggle for womens rightsa chain of events that begins with the womens suffrage campaigns of the early 1900s and ends with the troubled place of feminism a century later.
The secret history of wonder woman, by jill lepore the new. Unlike every other superhero, she also has a secret history. I will never look at wonder womans bracelets the same way again. Buy the secret history of wonder woman uk edition with new afterword by jill lepore isbn. The secret history of wonder woman audiobook by jill. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Its also a history of feminism from the suffragette movement into the 1950s it touches briefly on the 1960s and 70s but is primarily. The secret history of wonder woman is an absolutely fascinating nonfiction book about the man who created wonder woman and the many women who inspired him and who, in many cases, directly contributed to wonder woman in concept, story, and design. Jill lepore draws on newly discovered private papers to tell the secret history of the worlds most famous female superhero jill lepore fri 5 dec. The author reports on the unconventional life of wonder womans creator, william moulton marston, a psychologist and. The historian jill lepore examines the life and significance of wonder woman. On the one hand, the story it relates has more uplift than wonder womans invisible. Drawing from an astonishing trove of documents, including neverbeforeseen private papers, harvard historian and new yorker staff writer jill lepore reveals the fascinating family story that sparked the invention of the most popular female superhero of all time.
A riveting work of historical detection revealing that the origin of wonder woman, one of the worlds most iconic superheroes, hides within it a. Lepore seamlessly shifts from the micro to the macro. She uncovers, unclothes, and satisfactorily binds with ropes and chains the better to dispose of it the myth that wonder woman was a feature of womans liberation rather than one of male dominance. The secret history of wonder woman by jill lepore docs. The secret history of wonder woman, by jill lepore. The secret history of wonder woman, by jill lepore the. Jill lepores secret history of wonder woman the new. Listen to secret history of wonder woman by jill lepore at. Now the world is ready for you, goes one of the lines in the funky, hornheavy opening theme song of the tv seri.
The secret history of wonder woman paperback july 7, 2015. The secret history of wonder woman by jill lepore goodreads. Her books include the new york times best seller the secret history of wonder woman and book of ages, a finalist for the national book award. Jill lepores the secret history of wonder woman is not a straightahead history of the confounding, contradictory character of the comics, that amazing amazon. On the one hand, the story it relates has more uplift than wonder woman s. A new york times and national bestseller and winner of the 2015 american history book prize. Jill lepores generously illustrated the secret history of wonder woman impressively links the iconic superheros 1941 creation by william moulton marston also the inventor of the lie detector both to the aims of midtwentiethcentury feminism and to the influential marston familys deep domestic intrigues. Jill lepore examines the feminist underpinnings of the superhero wonder woman. The secret history of wonder woman by jill lepore smart. Leporeseamlessly shifts from the micro to the macro.
Jill lepore, author of the secret history of wonder. Lepore fully tells marstons history for the first time, as well as the complete history of how so many crisp feminist ideas made their way into wonder woman comics. Wonder woman, lepore argues, is the missing link in the history of the struggle for women s rights a chain of events that begins with the women s suffrage campaigns of the early 1900s and ends with the troubled place of feminism a century later. Alison bechdel, author of fun home the secret history of wonder woman is as racy, as improbable, as awesomely righteous, and as filled with curious devices as an episode of the comic book itself. All superheroes have strange myths of origin, but the politically and erotically charged backstory of wonder woman outstrips any comic book. A panel depicting this labor unrest is just one of scores that appear throughout lepores book, further amplifying the authors vivid prose.
In the nexus of feminism and popular culture, jill lepore has found a revelatory chapter of american history. Jill lepores new book, the secret history of wonder woman, is a long, strange thing to chew on. Her books include thenew yorktimesbest sellerthe secret history of wonder womanandbook of ages,a finalist for the national book award. The life and opinions of jane franklin, 20, was the product of the suffragist, feminist, and birth control movements of the 1900s and 1910s and became a source of the womens liberation and feminist movements of the 1960s and 1970s. She is the david woods kemper 41 professor of american history at harvard university and a staff writer at the new yorker, where she has contributed since 2005.
The secret history of wonder woman by jill lepore 3. She writes about american history, law, literature, and politics. Books by jill lepore author of the secret history of. The secret history of wonder woman is as racy, as improbable, as awesomely righteous, and as filled with curious devices as an episode of the comic book itself. While the stated aim of jill lepore s book is to cast wonder woman as the missing link between early american feminism and its seventies resurgence, the harvard historian is more compelling in. The freaky, fabulous, feminist secret history of wonder. The secret history of wonder woman is a richly interwoven and illustrated dual biography of. Wonder woman, lepore declares, is the missing link in a chain of events that begins with the woman suffrage campaigns of the 1910s and ends with the troubled place of feminism fully a century.