“A fascinating new biography.”

Chicago Sun-Times

“Kinzie should be considered one of Chicago’s forgotten founders. Her work, often uncredited because she was a woman, helped build the foundation of what would become a sophisticated, international city. The World of Juliette Kinzie makes heard a voice long muted, from inside the parlors, kitchens and gardens that contributed to the rise of Chicago.”

Newcity

“Keating's thorough knowledge of local history grounds Kinzie’s story in its time and place. Bessie Louise Pierce . . . lamented that (Chicago) was 'preeminently a man’s city' in its early years, dominated by business tycoons and real estate speculators. The World of Juliette Kinzie challenges this narrative, shifting the spotlight from the exploits of a few prominent men to the lesser-known accomplishments of a remarkable woman.”

Chicago Review of Books

“Keating’s book captures a woman of her time who is also an individual. . . . Juliette’s is a Chicago story.  And it’s also her story.”

 

Third Coast Review

“Early Chicago settler, pioneering historian, cultural influencer, and defender of her household—Juliette Kinzie’s story carries extraordinary range. In this intimate portrait of an expansive life, Ann Durkin Keating has rescued Juliette from the dismissiveness of history. We experience the enormous changes of nineteenth-century America through Juliette’s eyes, as she participates in the dispossession of Native Americans, grieves during the Civil War, and suffers economically as Chicago grows from hamlet to metropolis. Keating explains how Juliette centered her worldview around the household, a choice that feels more strategic than antiquated, and one that guides Juliette through turbulent times. Chicago’s early history is not merely men boosting a speculative venture. It needs the voices of Juliette—and other women—to understand the creation of culture and community, in all its forms.”

D. Bradford Hunt, Newberry Library

“Through her discovery of Juliette Kinzie’s correspondence Ann Durkin Keating has opened a revealing window on antebellum Chicago’s social and economic life. This intimate history restores a mostly forgotten founding mother of the city. At the heart of Keating’s analysis is the role of households forming and dissolving amid western migration, economic challenges, and the Civil War.”

Theodore J. Karamanski, Loyola University Chicago