You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.

Some of these questions seem to be jokes, and they answer them in a jocular fashion.

When a man writes in and says, there's various women, I have these choices, who should I pick?

They tell him not to marry the smartest one or the wittiest one because she will put him down all the time.

And if there's nothing to divide these two women up other than their size, marry the smaller

one because her clothes will be less expensive.

Hello and welcome to episode 410 of Ben Franklin's World, the podcast dedicated to helping

you learn more about how the people and events of our early American past have shaped the

present day world we live in. And I'm your host, Liz Covart. When do people begin seeking anonymous advice for their most

profound personal dilemmas? And what can the answers to their early questions tell us about the

emotional lives of people in the past? Today, we're traveling back in time to 1690s England

to explore the world's first personal advice column, the Athenia Mercury.

This two-sided broadsheet publication invited readers to send in questions about anything,

from science and religion to love and marriage, and its creators, a small group of Londoners

who dubbed themselves the Athenian society, answered these queries with a surprising

blend of wit, morality, and insight.

Joining us for this investigation is Mary Beth Norton, a good friend of this podcast and an award-winning

historian and trailblazer in the field of early American women's history.

Now, you may remember Mary Beth from our conversations in episode 112 and 294, where we discussed the fourth

T-ship of Boston and her book, 1774, The Long Year of Revolution. Today, Mary Beth joins us to

share her latest work and edited volume titled, I humbly beg your speedy answer, letters on love

and marriage from the world's first

...