I am happy to have Andrea Friederici Ross  back here on the Margins to discuss her latest book about forgotten women changing in the world. Sisters of Influence: A Biography of Zina, Amy, and Rose Fay tells the story of three extraordinary sisters who defied the expectations of their Victorian-era childhood and left their mark on history.

Take it away, Andrea!

Even well-known women in the nineteenth-century are often neglected by biographers and historians.  What path led you to the Fay sisters, and why do you think it’s important to tell their stories today?

I’ve done some work in animal rescue, so the first sister to come to my attention was Rose, who founded the Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago. That she was married to Theodore Thomas, the first conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, just added to my interest. Gradually I became aware that she had these remarkable sisters, so I had to incorporate their stories as well. What I thought would be a fairly simple story became very involved once I decided to include Zina and Amy. In addition to learning about the humane movement and the classical music scene in the States, I had to educate myself on cooperative housekeeping, women in music, higher education for women, and other issues the sisters tackled. But, in the end, it makes for a better story — one that incorporates many different things women were championing in the late 1800s. The Fay sisters were a kind of real-life Little Women. They each utilized their unique skills, voices, and personalities to move their issues forward. I think this is so pertinent today: by following our passions to enact change, gradually, society evolves in a more positive direction. There is no place for stagnancy, no time for apathy. Every voice matters.

Zina, Amy, and Rose Fay were all trailblazers in their separate fields during the Progressive Era,  a period marked by many political and social reform movements.  What new challenges and opportunities did women face at that time, and  how did they affect the Fay sisters directly?

The Fay sisters grew up in the Victorian Era, at a time when women were expected to confine themselves to the domestic realm. But through their work in women’s clubs, their writings (all three were authors), and their organizational efforts, they — along with many, many other women — helped expand the women’s sphere into the community and beyond. The Fay sisters were, in effect, bridges from the Victoria Era into the Progressive Era. It begs the question: what about us? What important historical periods are we bridging, as women? Which direction do we want to head?

Writing about historical figures like the Fay sisters requires living with them over a period of years.  What was it like to have them as your constant companions?

Ha! They were good company, actually. I have three amaryllis plants that I named Amy, Zina, and Rose, and I kept them abreast of the progress on the manuscript. They say talking to plants helps them grow? I felt like it was the converse — they helped keep me on track.

Did the Fay sisters cross paths with the subject of your last biography,  socialite-activist Edith Rockefeller McCormick?

Yes! In fact, they lived on the same street! I was able to figure out several instances where some of the sisters and Edith intersected. That said, they were very different personalities! For example, Edith cherished a fur wrap made of chinchilla skins. Rose, describing what may well have been that very coat, wrote, “A thousand painful deaths in one garment!”

I realize this is an unfair question, but did you have a favorite among the sisters?

As you surely suspect, I did. I started out primarily focused on Rose but, in the end, Amy’s winsome personality won me over. I think, of the three sisters, Amy is the one I’d choose as a friend. Zina was a difficult personality and, while I respect what she was trying to accomplish in terms of restructuring housekeeping to make women’s lives easier, I took issue with some of her exclusionary attitudes. And Rose was lovely but I think I’d share more laughs with Amy.

How difficult was it to find sources for these women?

I got lucky this time! Usually this is one of the most challenging parts of writing about women. But, thanks to work done by Sylvia Wright Mitarachi, a Fay descendant and writer, all of the sisters’ papers are at Schlesinger Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mitarachi obtained a grant to write a biography about Zina but died before finishing the project. I was able to benefit from the materials she had gathered and organized. She even transcribed some of the cross-hatched writing in the family letters — bless her heart! We stand on the shoulders of those before us, right? I think of this quote every election day and it rang true throughout this project as well, particularly with regard to Sylvia Wright Mitarachi.

What was the most surprising thing you learned working on this book?

It’s important to note that the Fay sisters were not among the early suffragists. They weren’t fighting for the vote — they were advocating for greater involvement in their communities and the issues they cared about. This is an area of women’s history that I never learned about! The women’s movement was far more nuanced than just pro- or anti-suffrage. Much as I would have preferred for them to be among the early firebrands who paved the way for us to vote, the Fay sisters gave me a far deeper understanding of the decisions women had before them at that time. While gaining the vote was a monumental step, the quieter, gentler approaches many other women took also helped expand the possibilities for all of us today. Quiet and gentle can also be effective.

Andrea Friederici Ross is the author of Sisters of Influence: A Biography of Zina, Amy, and Rose Fay, as well as 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, as assistant to the director of Brookfield Zoo, and at her local public school library. She enjoys speaking about the women in her books and has teamed up with historical interpreter ElliePresents to offer unique author programs bringing the women to life.

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Sisters of Influence will be released on October 14.  It is available for pre-order wherever you buy your books.