Reviews
Review by: Carol Berkin, Presidential Professor of History Emerita, CUNY - December 27, 2025
"Jane Calvert has given us a genuine gift with this edition of John Dickinson's 1767-1768 essays, written to awaken colonists to the dangers British policies posed to their liberties and freedoms in the years before independence was declared. Calvert's annotations add context and depth to Dickinson's twelve FARMER'S LETTERS and demonstrate her profound knowledge not only of him but of his era. As readers will discover, Calvert has restored 'the penman of the Founding' to his rightful place in the patriot pantheon."
Review by: Jack Greene, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities Emeritus, Johns Hopkins University - December 27, 2025
"Jane Calvert, the foremost authority on the Pennsylvania lawyer and political leader John Dickinson has here produced an impressive modern edition of Dickinson's most influential work: LETTERS FROM A FARMER IN PENNSYLVANIA, a response to the British Parliament's effort to establish its legislative authority over the American colonies through the Townshend Acts of 1767. Widely reprinted and circulated, these letters were crucial to the transatlantic effort to define the distribution of authority within the British Empire and to keep the empire intact. With an ample introduction and fully noted, this volume will be of interest to all readers who wish to understand the complex quarrel that ultimately led to the American Revolution."