In The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, journalist Juliet Ashton employed the letter to gather research for her latest writing project. Through this cross channel exchange, Juliet learned about the island, the  society’s taste in books and the impact of  German occupation on their tiny homeland.

In 84 Charing Cross Road, Helene Hanff originally used the letter as a purchase order for out-of-print, hard-to-find books.  Later the transatlantic correspondence fostered a deep friendship between Hanff and bookseller, Frank Doel.

In Founding Mothers, letters crisscrossed the original 13 colonies with private news, political opinions, pleas for money and accounts of war and an emerging nation.

Has the letter become obsolete in our society of cell phones, laptops and text messaging?
In ancient times, the written message was scratched onto leather or papyrus with a goose quill or split reed dipped in sticky ink.  The average piece of papyrus held roughly 140 words. Penning three syllables required one minute and an hour’s work resulted in about 72 words.

When completed, the short letter was folded before being sealed with pitch or wax.  A long letter would be wrapped in another sheet of papyrus before being tied with a small cord and then sealed.

In contrast, today’s technology has made written communication almost effortless.
Major corporations especially those with a global presence are switching to Instant Messaging (IM) instead of telephone and voice mail communication.   Corresponding via IM is less intrusive, more concise and can  sometimes prevent misunderstandings.

The adage, ‘open mouth – insert foot’, would no longer apply since few of us can write without some forethought. Other attributes include: communication with more than one person at a time and recordability.

Granted, an IM print out does not resemble the letter of days gone by, but it’s written communication, isn’t it.

What’s wrong with composing a letter using the family PC?
Busy families find the computer a valuable tool when compiling the once-a-year, Christmas letter.   The ‘brag sheet’ has earned its derogatory name since many proud parents use the holidays as a time to boast about their family’s accomplishments.

To make your Christmas letter enjoyable for all:

• Use everyday words so your recipients  can ‘hear’  you.
• Cut down on the use of unnecessary adjectives, too.
• Read your letter aloud – does it flow?  Is it interesting?
• It’s hard, but try not to exaggerate – let the events speak for themselves.
• Focus on the highlights of the year – one or two typed pages should be sufficient.  If not, write another letter in a few months.
• Digital photography makes it easy to  liven up your letter with photos.

Remember who will be reading the letter.  The pages  should entertain those who aren’t familiar with the daily happenings of your household, but still hold the attention of close family members.

(After my aunt had raved about our Christmas letter for several years,  my mother demanded a copy  for herself.   Since we kept in close contact with Mother during the year, I never imagined she’d want a repeat of old news.  She did!!)

Be sure to finish off with a personal, handwritten note at the end.  If you get writer’s block every December, try the instant Christmas story generator at www.christmaslettertips.com and just fill in the blanks.

For pain-free communication, try the Eee PC, a miniature laptop small enough to fit in a purse.  With a battery life of four to six hours, the writer can comfortably compose a letter, update a blog, or send an e-mail while enjoying the great outdoors or a cup of coffee at the local bookstore.

Realistically speaking, the days of the handwritten letter on perfumed stationary are dead and gone.  Whether it be instant messaging, e-mail, blogging or a conventional letter, staying in touch with those you love has never been easier. Give it a try!!

But after reading Founding Mothers, you’ll have to agree that room should be cleared in those same books for the deeds and accomplishments of their wives: Martha, Deborah and Abigail. For without their support, encouragement and resourcefulness, these great men would certainly have floundered.

As Washington wrote, “Not would I rob the fairer sex of their share in the glory of a revolution so honorable to human nature, for indeed, I think you ladies are in the number of the best patriots America can boast.”

Don’t think of Founding Mothers as a boring book of history. Instead, consider it an intimate peek into the lives of some of our greatest Americans.

Discussion questions for Founding Mothers can be found at: www.readinggroupguides.com.

The subdivision book club used the following questions for its discussion last month.

• Discuss the role of women in colonial America. Did you discover anything surprising? Unjust? Ridiculous?
• History regards Benjamin Franklin as a great inventor and statesman. Taking that into consideration, how would you rate him as a husband and father?
• Explain how the Revolutionary War made is possible for the female sex to move beyond the traditional ‘woman’s place’.
• Discuss how the pamphleteer, Mercy Otis Warren, and other female political writers of the day were able to ‘have it all’.
• What do the following statements tell us about the personal life of John and Abigail Adams?

‘You women don’t need power, you already have all the real power.’
‘Behind every great man there’s a great woman.’

• What events prompted General Cornwallis to say that if he destroyed all of the men in America, he’d still have the women with which to contend?
• Contrast the prim and proper Martha Washington we see in portraits to the real woman as described by Cokie Roberts in Founding Mothers.
• How did the British occupation of the southern colonies alter the lives of women living there?
• How did Peggy Shippen help her husband, Benedict Arnold, advance the British cause in the colonies? After he was arrested, how did she escape detention?
• Who suffered the most during the peace process–the statesmen: Adams, Jefferson, Franklin or their wives?
• In 1809, Chief Justice John Marshall replied to Gouverneur Morris’ inquiry by saying that Virginia opinion was divided on Nancy’s (Randolph) guilt or innocence. Where do you stand on the greatest scandal in 18th century America?

Did Nancy bear an illegitimate child?
Did she murder her brother-in-law, Richard?
Was she the mistress of slave, Billy Ellis?
Was she a prostitute? A vampire?

• Martha Washington changed her title of First Lady to Chief State Prisoner. Would modern day First Ladies agree? Explain.

Were it not for such confessions, garnered from the letters of 18th century female Americans, little would be remembered about the prominent role   women played in the birth of our country.

Founding Mothers, authored by Cokie Roberts, a senior analyst for NPR News, contributes greatly to the historical picture of women.

Even though the system of coverture suspended  legal existence of the married woman, the constantly pregnant colonial matron oftentimes ran the family business or farm while nursing and tending the illnesses of her family and neighbors.

“Men handled relations with England,” Roberts quipped, “while the women handled pretty much everything else.”

While her inventor husband spent many years of their married life abroad, Deborah Franklin helped run the postal system, invested in real estate, managed the finances, cared for relatives and saved the family home from an angry mob.

Whether out of frustration or fatigue, the 60-year-old Mrs. Franklin ceased writing to her absentee husband who was finally forced to return home in December 1774 when the valiant lady died.

With the approach of the Revolutionary War, written material by women became a source of inspiration and information.  The first shots rang out at Lexington and Concord, just two weeks after the publication of Mercy Otis Warren’s pamphlet, The Group, advocating freedom from England.

Eavesdropping on British soldiers quartered in her home, Lydia Darragh recorded troop activities  and cleverly hid her coded messages behind the large buttons on the coat she messengered to her son serving under  General Washington.

In her Sentiments of an American Lady,  British born Esther Reed urged that the money saved by wearing simpler clothing and less elegantly dressed hair be donated to the Pennsylvania troops.  This collection, ‘the offering of the ladies,’  raised  $300,000 in just a few days and soon spread to  nearby states.

Criticism of Founding Mothers centers around the organization of facts presented not the researched material itself. Writing in chronological order, the author jumps back, as much as 10 years or more, each time a new character is introduced.

Paragraph length, was also another area of complaint with one paragraph being over a page long. In agreement, long paragraphs do make for slow reading.

Choosing the next month’s reading material can sometimes bring a clash of suggestions.  Thankfully,  larger library systems have begun to supply a recommended reading list.  This list includes any book with multiple copies available for circulation.

Once a title is agreed upon, a simple phone call secures enough copies of your choice for any given month including a synopsis, reviews, author’s biography and discussion questions nicely  housed in a canvas bag. However, popular titles must sometimes be reserved months in advance.

For those book clubbers  not in metropolitan areas,  it’s a trip to  the local library, bookstore or amazon.com.

For the most part, novels with clearly defined, dominant characters seem to produce a more rousing discussion.  Nonfiction titles such as Eat, Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert’s search  for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia; Under the Tuscan Sun, the step-by-step renovation of a Tuscan villa by Frances Mayes and Jeanette Walls‘ memoir, The Glass Castle were not big hits.

A suggested read by our local history buff, Founding Mothers was a first experience with actual events in a historical context.  But with such celebrated characters as Abigail and John Adams, Martha and George Washington, Benedict Arnold and his wife, Peggy Shippen, everyone had ideas and opinions to share.  Because the detailed narrative is jam packed with information, most  of those in attendance referred to notes taken while reading the selection.

Discussion questions for Founding Mothers will follow in the next post.