Journey back to the 17^th Century with two celebrated scholars in this discussion of courtship, marriage, love, and sex, drawn from the world’s first personal advice column and Mary Beth Norton’s latest book, I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer.  

Acclaimed historian and Pulitzer Prize–finalist Mary Beth Norton’s I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer is a remarkable collection of questions and answers drawn from the Athenian Mercury—a one-page, two-sided periodical published in 1690s London. In this groundbreaking publication ran the world’s first personal advice column, revealing intimate romantic problems of the day. Some concerns will be familiar to readers of today’s advice columns; others are delightfully strange and surprising, reflecting forgotten social and romantic customs. Norton’s entertaining compilation and assessment provide a unique, intriguing, and revealing picture of what has—and hasn’t—changed over the past three centuries when it comes to love, sex, and relationships. Don’t miss this foray into history and the insights provided by our guest scholars Mary Beth Norton and Serena Zabin, both known and celebrated for their study of women’s history and American families.

Mary Beth Norton is the Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History Emerita at Cornell University. 

Her highly acclaimed books include 1774, winner of the George Washington Prize; In the Devil’s Snare, winner of the Ambassador Book Award in American Studies; Founding Mothers & Fathers, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History; and other award-winners, Liberty’s Daughters and The British-Americans.  She taught at Cornell for 47 years, retiring in 2018. She was recently awarded a centennial medal by Harvard Griffin Graduate School, where she earned a PhD in 1969. Her highly acclaimed books include 1774, winner of the George Washington Prize; In the Devil’s Snare, winner of the Ambassador Book Award in American Studies; Founding Mothers & Fathers, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History; and other award-winners, Liberty’s Daughters and The British-Americans.  She taught at Cornell for 47 years, retiring in 2018. She was recently awarded a centennial medal by Harvard Griffin Graduate School, where she earned a PhD in 1969. 

 Serena Zabin is the Stephen R. Lewis, Jr. Professor of History and the Liberal Arts and faculty member in the American Studies program at Carleton College. She is the author of the prizewinning book The Boston Massacre: A Family History and also the codesigner of a serious video game, Witness to the Revolution, based on the book. Her previous books include Dangerous Economies: Status and Commerce in Imperial New York and The New York Conspiracy Trials of 1741: Daniel Horsmanden’s Journal of the Proceedings.