This real-life Little Women is the fascinating story of three of the six Fay sisters between 1850 and 1920. In their day, they were known to many, but they have fallen into obscurity. Andrea Friederici Ross intertwines their unusual stories, showing how the Fay sisters, through their focuses on women's education, club work, and reform efforts, exemplified women's striving to escape the restrictive norms of the Victorian Era.
Andrea Friederici Ross is the author of?Edith: The Rogue Rockefeller McCormick and Let the Lions Roar! The Evolution of Brookfield Zoo. She has worked as the operations manager of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, assistant to the director of the Chicago Zoological Society, and at her local public school library.
"Ross's sparkling biography brilliantly rescues these accomplished siblings from the dustbin of lapsed historical memory. This is a fascinating look at how nineteenth-century white women tested and stretched the confines of their traditional roles to usher in the next century's progressive changes."--Theresa Kaminski, author of Dr. Mary Walker's Civil War: One Woman's Journey to the Medal of Honor and the Fight for Women's Rights "In her wonderful account of inspiring, entwined lives, Andrea Friederici Ross tells the remarkable story of siblings who navigated both incredible triumphs and the inevitable vicissitudes of nineteenth-century womanhood. An engrossing and enlightening read."--Bridget Quinn, author of Portrait of a Woman: Art, Rivalry, and Revolution in the Life of Adelaide Labille-Guiard "Zina, Amy, and Rose lived full lives, and Ross has captured their idiosyncratic personalities as well as their achievements and stumbles in a rich saga of thought, action, and affection."--Patrick T. Reardon, author of The Loop: The "L" Tracks That Shaped and Saved Chicago "Andrea Friederici Ross's triple biography is captivating in its detail and absorbing in its revelations of the achievements of three sisters whose social and cultural contributions, like those of many women of their era, have been under-studied and under-appreciated."--Charles H. Cosgrove, author of They Both Reached for the Gun: Beulah Annan, Maurine Watkins, and the Trial That Became Chicago "This engaging book tells the story of a prominent family and its contributions to a changing America as it transformed from Victorian customs to progressive values. Sisters of Influence addresses many critical issues for women at that time, from marriage to music; public roles to voting rights; volunteerism to employment opportunities. Most importantly, it covers these issues from the perspective of three fascinating sisters whom history has overlooked--but whose collective biographies enlighten major societal transformations from the 19th to 20th centuries."--Greg Borzo, author of Chicago's Fabulous Fountains
