The Lowells of Massachusetts: An American Family

by Nina Sankovitch

"[A] stirring saga...Vivid and intimate, Ms. Sankovitch's account entertains us with Puritans and preachers, Tories and rebels, abolitionists and industrialists, lecturers and poets ... Ms. Sankovitch has made a compelling contribution to Massachusetts and American History."―Roger Lowenstein, The Wall Street Journal
" Sankovitch has searched out these letters to write the powerful story of one of America's most extraordinary families, a family that helped shape the course of American history in dramatic and decisive ways...By the final pages of this volume, one feels deeply attached to the individual Lowells, while also exhilarated at having experienced this grand sweep of American history." ―Charlotte Gordon, Washington Post
Sankovitch's "skillful blending of context and detail makes the vicissitudes of one family emblematic of a nation's."-  The New Yorker

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, American History, Audiobook, Biography Memoir

400 pages, Hardcover

First published April 11, 2017

About the author

Nina Sankovitch is a bestselling writer, avid historian, and voracious reader. She can be reached via Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, and on her website, www.ninasankovitch.com.

Reviews

[Jacqueline Masumian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lowells of Massachusetts is the perfect book for readers who crave a better understanding of American history but who, like me, are not inclined to read “history books” or voluminous biographies. This exhaustively researched portrait of the Lowells, a prominent New England family, captures the events of America’s development from the 1600s up through the 1920s. The story describes the family’s emigrating to the New World, creating settlements, developing a free church and government, forging a vital industry, working to abolish slavery, fighting the Civil War, making improvements in higher education, and fostering the arts. The Lowells did all these things alongside thousands of other Americans determined through hard work and commitment to create a vibrant, free country. Following this remarkable family, one can see clearly how the United States, particularly New England, came to be.

Nina Sankovitch skillfully handles the various strands of the Lowell family as they make their contributions to American society, and with her colorful writing and interpretative details, she manages to keep it engaging throughout. One section of the book I found particularly fascinating was the depiction of the crucial events leading up to the Civil War. I also enjoyed the sections about Amy Lowell, an early twentieth century cultural dynamo and remarkably successful poetess.

This is American history as portrayed through one industrious and dedicated New England family. It’s quite an achievement.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful overview of American History through the story of one family. Highly recommended.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super like this book! This somewhat fictionalised account of 300+ years of this family really brings you through a huge chunk of American history. The author makes you feel like you're right there with them, yet it doesn't feel overly fictionalised to the point you are no longer reading non fiction. I learned so much about the history of our country from this. Love love love.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lowells of Massachusetts reads not only like a historic family saga, but an incredibly well-researched documentary. I wish we had had books like this to read in high school to better understand our nation’s history and better relate to our Founding Father’s ideals and mission for our country. The Lowells, beginning with Percival Lowle in 1639, impacts and influence over our nation’s early religion, laws, ethics, politics, industrial, scholarly, and publishing principles was of historic proportions. I only wonder if the family continues their influence on society today...

[G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great family history. I just wish the author had included a family tree. The list at the beginning was hard to read. Family names tend to recur so remembering who was related to who, and how, in this sprawling family was difficult at times.

[Jacqueline Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a interesting read. It is about one family who came to the America early in her creation and became part of its history both for good and not so good. I did not know about them when I bought the book but had read a review. It was so engaging as with each new generation you learned not just about them but about their contemporaries and the world in which they lived in. I did not know that one of them was part of the Negro battalion that was featured in the movie "Glory" or that they helped shape the university system which we all now know. What he started at Harvard spread nationwide. They were not all good that same university president suppressed the gay community at Harvard while his own sister was a lesbian and lived with a life long partner. I enjoyed learning about poetry which is not something I know about. I highly recommend this book.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I'm in the minority here, so don't hate. I thought the book was filled with details but was not put together very well. I'm not a huge fan of fictionalizing history, and there was so much that the author had to conjure up into a story. I felt the timelines were sometimes a bit jagged and I couldn't always follow along, and all the John Lowells didn't help either (I understand that family names are not the author's fault). I was very interested in the family's part in the wars against the British and in the Industrial Revolution. I didn't get as much of the Industrial Revolution as I would have liked. I am glad, however, that the female members of the family got a larger amount of focus than often happens in family histories.

[John Kriegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

City Drew Me In; The Family Captured Me

The last half century of my life has been spent as an attorney examining title to real estate primarily in Massachusetts. I was hoping to find out more about the creation of the City of Lowell when I acquired this book. And although there was some information new to me about those events, the panorama of the Lowell family members was so much more fascinating! The easy flow of the author's prose was a pleasant surprise and when she opened the book with the story of Percival Lowle's landing in the New World at a location within five miles of my home, I was hooked. Time invested in reading this selective history of the Lowells will never be regretted. Well done counsellor! And thank you. Sincerely.

[Lucia Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Sankovitch's impressive scholarship has lovingly brought to life generations of the Lowell family whose members have been important participants in the history of America since colonial times. Although an amazing amount of research obviously went into the writing of this book, The Lowells of Massachusetts reads like a novel with fully-developed characters you come to know, admire, love and mourn. I highly recommend this book, not only to everyone with an interest in American history, but to anyone who enjoys a compelling family saga.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an absorbing and beautifully written book. Given current events, it was an eerie reminder of all that our country has endured and how we persisted. My only problem was certain liberties that I presume the author took in telling us what a certain person was thinking at a particular time. It is tricky because you want to present a three-dimensional portrayal but, at the same time, it is crucial to be bound by the sources and use them as you guide.

[Loretta Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a transplant to New England from the Midwest originally, I wasn’t aware of the Lowell family. This book was very well written and researched and read like a novel, which is exactly the type of biography I enjoy reading. The Lowells were a very interesting and admirable family and the author does an excellent job capturing their story through three centuries. They were all so accomplished and I especially enjoyed reading about the Lowell women. Well done.

[Beverly J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, insightful, educational, heartwarming historical biography of the Lowell and Lawrence families from Massachusetts. Growing up north of Boston, I had never known the incredible history from which the towns had received their names. Truly incredible how instrumental these families were in writing both the MA and US Constitutions. Along with incredible acts of bravery to lead to freedom in America. Thank you Nina, for the time invested in this wonderful read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this highly readable history of the Lowell family from their emigration from England to the early 1900s.TheI book was a lively review of American history, and I learned a lot about a number of distinguished and highly productive American citizens. Now one of my book clubs is going to read it.

[Massanutten Regional Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth, Central patron, August 2019, 5 stars:

I loved this highly readable history of the Lowell family from their emigration from England to the early 1900s. The book was a lively review of American history, and I learned a lot about a number of distinguished and highly productive American citizens. Now one of my book clubs is going to read it.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully written historical novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story shows how passionate the author was about the subject, as the research is so rich, detailed, and well developed. Excellent book.

[Marianne Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having visited Lowell Mass it was nice to read about it's namesakes. I really enjoyed the colonial era of the Lowells. This book is well researched and enjoyably written. Many thanks to the author for reading all those letters.

[Carole Kleinknecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

400 years of American history through the lives of a distinguished family. I learned so much, and this is one of my favorite authors. Her first book, Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, is one of my all-time favorites.

[Holly Woodward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's be honest, the puritans who start this book are not as interesting as the lesbian poet who ends this family saga! This book began to come alive to me during the American Revolution, where families were split in their loyalties, and then culminated in a whole generation of young men slaughtered in questionable war tactics in the Civil War. To read their letters is heart wrenching. It reminds us how much our forefathers sacrificed for this nation. So I am moved to encourage you to delve in, over this Independence Day.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this story about a quintessential American Family.

[Mae Chaplin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this history of a fascinating American family.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a tedious read but the Lowell family members were unique in so many ways and were intertwined in so much Massachusetts and US history. Still a worthwhile read.

[Pansy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written and satisfying biography of generations of a prominent New England family. Generous use of both imagination and research made this an enjoyable read. Great historical context.

[Linda DiMeo Lowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a month to read this book. It's so dense with Lowells and Cabots and men named John and at least a hundred other characters and covers the first settlements in Massachusetts from Britain through the WWI. I think the author would have been better served if she's covered a shorter period of time using less characters. Parts of the book are fascinating, especially the early settler portions and the sections on Amy Lowell, the poet and lesbian. I found the writing good, but there are abrupt shifts from one character to another to another and shifts in time and I found it hard to keep up. It did peak my interest in early American settlement and the poet, Amy Lowell. I will want to read more about these two topics in the future.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and well-written book during the 1600s to 1900s about the history of Massachusetts and the Lowells family.

Won an ARC through goodreads giveaway

[Melinda M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lowells of Massachusetts: An American Family by Nina Sankovitch gives insight to a well known American family through the history of the United States especially Massachusetts.. It tells of the women in the family as well and their journey. Nina Sankovitch makes the history interesting and keeps you involved in the story. It is well written and covers from the 1600's thru the 1900's.

I received a copy thru a Goodreads Giveaway.

[Meg Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very flowery and florid, it reads more like historical fiction, though obviously well researched. starting with the first Lowell in America and ended with the poet Amy Lowell (why have I never heard of her?) basically every Lowell gets their turn.

[Stephen Whelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting family spanning important eras in Massachusetts history.