“Everyone knows something of the lore of Benjamin Franklin,” she said. “He was a spectacle, she was a speck.”

Letters written between ‘Benny’ and his sister ‘Jenny’ have been examined, which show that the two had a very close relationship. Women in that period did not often know how to read or write, and it is suggested that Benjamin taught his sister how to learn the written language.

“He loved no one longer,” said Lepore. “She loved no one better.”

full article: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2013/09/on-closer-inspection-not-such-a-plain-jane/