Sophonisba Breckinridge

Illinois State Historical Society Award, 2020

"We are witnessing a renaissance in the crafting of biography. . . . Anya Jabour provides a twist on the genre by organizing the bulk of the book topically rather than chronologically. . . .The best one-volume synthesis of the social justice legacy of Progressive Era reform feminism." --American Historical Review
"In this engaging, crisply written biography, Anya Jabour tells the life story of the groundbreaking, if lesser-known, social reformer Sophonisba Breckinridge. . . . Jabour skillfully and delicately renders a portrait of a women of extraordinary intelligence and strength." --Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
"Anya Jabour's Sophonisba Breckinridge: Championing Women's Activism in Modern America reconstructs the life and work of a central figure in nearly every female-led progressive reform movement of the early twentieth century. . . . Engaging and informative, Sophonisba Breckinridge is sure to please readers of all backgrounds." --Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society
​"Anya Jabour has masterfully brought our attention to Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge, one of the most influential women of the Progressive era that no one knows. She centers Breckinridge in a dense contextualization of the period and proves without a doubt the significance of Breckingridge's wide-ranging social activism." --Journal of Southern History
​"Highly recommended." --Choice
​"In propulsive prose, Anya Jabour brings to life progressive feminist Sophonisba Breckinridge, whose forty-year career as an advocate for social justice provides a model of 'passionate patience' for progressives in the twenty-first century."--Robyn Muncy, author of Relentless Reformer: Josephine Roche and Progressivism in Twentieth-Century America
​"A compelling biography that resurrects the life and times of this noteworthy feminist." --Booklist
​"Anya Jabour has written an outstanding biography of Sophonisba Breckinridge. She has thoroughly convinced me of Breckinridge's important role in American and women's history and how much of each is revealed by her lifelong activism. The research is expansive and the writing is flawless."--Joan M. Johnson, author of Funding Feminism: Monied Women, Philanthropy, and the Women's Movement, 1870–1967

​"Anya Jabour has masterfully brought our attention to Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge, one of the most influential women of the Progressive era that no one knows. She centers Breckinridge in a dense contextualization of the period and proves without a doubt the significance of Breckingridge's wide-ranging social activism." --Journal of Southern History

"A masterly contribution to the history of American women. Academics and general readers alike will applaud this nuanced biography of a feminist who dedicated her life to public service and improving the lives of women." --Library Journal