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Jill Lepore

ジル・レポア

Jill Lepore

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1966-08-27 （West Boylston, Massachusetts, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
historian, journalist, professor
Active Years
1995-
Affiliations
Harvard University, Boston University, University of California, San Diego
Memberships
American Antiquarian Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society, Society of American Historians

Education

Tufts University
English
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1984–1987
Year of Graduation: 1987
Country: United States
Originally began as a math major; switched to English. Participated in ROTC while at Tufts.
University of Michigan
American Culture
Degree: M.A.
Period: 1988–1990
Year of Graduation: 1990
Country: United States
Yale University
American Studies (early American history)
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1991–1995
Year of Graduation: 1995
Country: United States
Specialized in early American history during doctoral studies.

Awards

Bancroft Prize
1999
Work: The Name of War
Organization: Columbia University Libraries (awarding)
Result: 受賞
Ralph Waldo Emerson Award
1998
Work: The Name of War
Organization: Phi Beta Kappa
Result: 受賞
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
2006
Work: New York Burning
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Mark Lynton History Prize
2014
Work: Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin
Organization: Lukas Prize / Mark Lynton History Prize
Result: 受賞
American History Book Prize
2015
Work: The Secret History of Wonder Woman
Organization: American History Book Prize
Result: 受賞
Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought
2021
Organization: Hannah Arendt Award
Result: 受賞
Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2014
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Result: 選出
Elected to the American Philosophical Society
2014
Organization: American Philosophical Society
Result: 選出

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of American Identity

1998 scholarly history / non-fiction

A scholarly study of King Philip's War and how it shaped early American identity.

early American historywar and societyidentity formation

New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-century Manhattan

2005 historical non-fiction

Explores liberty, slavery, and conspiracy in 18th-century Manhattan to illuminate urban and social structures.

urban historyslaverysocial conspiracy

The Mansion of Happiness: A History of Life and Death

2012 cultural history / social history

Examines cultural ideas and practices surrounding life and death to consider transformations in modern society.

attitudes toward life and deathcultural historysocial institutions

The Secret History of Wonder Woman

2014 cultural history / biography

Reveals the creation history of Wonder Woman and the feminist movement and pioneers behind it.

women's historypopular culturefeminism

These Truths: A History of the United States

2018 comprehensive history

A broad history of the United States examining its political and social development and the relationship between ideals and reality.

American historyconstitution and politicssocial change

The Deadline

2023 essays / criticism

A collection of essays and criticism addressing contemporary historical perspectives and cultural topics.

essayscontemporary cultureinterpretation of history

We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution

2025 constitutional history / political history

A historical examination of the formation and development of the U.S. Constitution.

constitutional historypolitical thoughtnation and citizenry

Bibliography

  • The Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of American Identity
  • Encounters in the New World: A History in Documents
  • A Is for American: Letters and Other Characters in the Newly United States
  • New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-century Manhattan
  • The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party's Revolution and the Battle Over American History
  • The Mansion of Happiness: A History of Life and Death
  • The Story of America: Essays on Origins
  • Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin
  • The Secret History of Wonder Woman
  • Joe Gould's Teeth
  • These Truths: A History of the United States
  • This America: The Case for the Nation
  • If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future
  • The Deadline
  • We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution

Style & Themes

Literary Style
scholarly yet accessible narrative styleessayistic and argumentative structure
Recurring Motifs
focus on gaps and silences in evidencereexamination of American origins and national narrativesintersection of popular culture and gender history

Legacy

Her body of work combines scholarly rigor with accessibility, deepening understanding of modern American history. She has influence both within academia and among general readers, valued in public history and journalism.

Academic Societies

  • American Antiquarian Society
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • American Philosophical Society
  • Society of American Historians

In Popular Culture

  • The Secret History of Wonder Woman influenced popular-culture discussions and feminist readings of comic-book history.
  • Longstanding contributions to The New Yorker have shaped public conversations about history and culture.

Quotes

  • History is the art of making an argument about the past by telling a story accountable to evidence.
    Source: The Story of America: Essays on Origins (2014)

Trivia

  • Her father was a junior high school principal and her mother an art teacher.
  • Her paternal grandparents were Italian immigrants.
  • She began college as a math major at Tufts but changed to English.
  • She participated in ROTC while at Tufts.
  • She signed and later sought to retract a faculty letter concerning John Comaroff in 2022.