Dr. Jessica Lepler's Avatar

Dr. Jessica Lepler

@jlepler.bsky.social

Historian at UNH. Teaches early America, capitalism, & animals. 1st Book (2013): "The Many Panics of 1837." 2nd Book (coming in August 2025): "Canal Dreamers" https://uncpress.org/book/9781469690551/canal-dreamers/

2,671 Followers  |  2,053 Following  |  181 Posts  |  Joined: 17.11.2023  |  2.2802

Latest posts by jlepler.bsky.social on Bluesky

I totally appreciate the map wall and the fact that the book cover matches your beautiful blue eyes!

03.08.2025 04:18 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you @econroykrutz.bsky.social ! It is so fun to see Canal Dreamers in the wild!

02.08.2025 23:58 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks for announcing β€œCanal Dreamers”!

27.07.2025 16:33 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I grow lots of varieties as well. The Matt’s Wild went feral on me β€” wild, you might say! They’re the only ones I snip off with the fruit still on the stem.

24.07.2025 02:13 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I find that the Matt’s Wild are challenging to harvest individually. Easier to cut a full stem when several start to ripen.

24.07.2025 01:56 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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A compelling tale of a monumental project in Central America that never happened by people mostly forgotten. A cautionary tale of ambition, hubris and associated shenanigans in the 1820s.

Due for publication Aug. 2025
Book Review at lachief.substack.com
@uncpress.bsky.social
@jlepler.bsky.social

23.07.2025 15:08 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you!

21.07.2025 18:40 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Absolutely!

21.07.2025 16:39 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks, Brian! Hope you had fun @shearites.bsky.social!

21.07.2025 16:37 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you!

21.07.2025 13:29 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you, Karin! It was lovely to see you @shearites.bsky.social. Thank you for organizing so much, including the fabulous library crawl!

21.07.2025 13:29 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Canal Dreamers | Jessica M. Lepler | University of North Carolina Press In the 1820s, there was a little-known quest to unite the world by building a waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As Spanish American nations d...

If you want to enjoy opening your own package containing Canal Dreamers, you can get it here: uncpress.org/book/9781469.... Before the August 26 publication date, you can save 30% with this code: 01SOCIAL30.

@uncpress.bsky.social

21.07.2025 12:49 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Last week, a very special package from @uncpress.bsky.social arrived! I was traveling and eager to touch the Word files turned into PDF files transformed into real paper between glossy covers. Canal Dreamers is a dream come true for me! My nine-year-old son snapped a perfect memory of the moment. πŸ—ƒοΈ

21.07.2025 12:47 β€” πŸ‘ 78    πŸ” 12    πŸ’¬ 7    πŸ“Œ 0

In other words, it's a very different story set in a different place, at a different time, with a different cast. At the same time, it is also a riveting narrative driven by strong characters. It argues for the significance of the dreamable but undoable for understanding our world.

21.07.2025 12:41 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Canal Dreamers is about the quest for an isthmian waterway in the 1820s, a century or so before the Panama Canal and half a century after 1776. Nicaragua's river, lake, and narrow land looked like barely buried treasure to the fascinating folks who dreamed of revolutionizing the earth itself.

21.07.2025 12:39 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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@econroykrutz.bsky.social caught his look of triumph perfectly!

20.07.2025 14:21 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Canal Dreamers in the wild! Thank you @econroykrutz.bsky.social! I did not get to check out the book exhibits at #SHEAR2025. So glad to know that @uncpress.bsky.social displayed an advance copy at @shearites.bsky.social. Whoever snagged the copy, I can't wait to hear what you think!

20.07.2025 13:40 β€” πŸ‘ 25    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Canal Dreamers: The Epic Quest to Connect the Atlantic and Pacific in the Age of Revolutions|Paperback In the 1820s, there was a little-known quest to unite the world by building a waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As Spanish American nations declared independence and new canals intensi...

First advanced reader’s review is up on Barnes and Nobles, and it is wonderful! Thank you @lachlanuk.bsky.social

@uncpress.bsky.social
@sonyabonczek.bsky.social

www.barnesandnoble.com/w/canal-drea...

18.07.2025 19:53 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Emily Conroy-Krutz (@econroykrutz.bsky.social) Historian of 19th century religion and US foreign relations. Author of Christian Imperialism (2015) and Missionary Diplomacy (2024)

Thanks for a hilarious dinner @econroykrutz.bsky.social @dael.bsky.social @sarageorgini.bsky.social @lkeiter.bsky.social @joshrgreenberg.bsky.social
And our generous chauffeur @sharonannmurphy.bsky.social

18.07.2025 19:44 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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That’s it for me for #SHEAR2025. It was short but sweet. We had a full house at our panel this morning (ignore my empty chair), and I had a blast with old and new friends. Time to race home for my son’s Seussical Jr. performance. And I hear there’s a bookβ€”20 years in the makingβ€”waiting for me.

18.07.2025 16:49 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

OMG! My first look at β€œCanal Dreamers” as a physical book is in a viral TikTok! Go @sonyabonczek.bsky.social and @uncpress.bsky.social! So excited to get my paws on the real thing when I get home from #shear2025.

16.07.2025 13:47 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Commonplace Style Sheet - Commonplace Commonplace Style Sheet

Are you heading to Providence for #SHEAR2025? Are you interesting in pitching a piece to Commonplace (@commonplacejrnl.bsky.social) or learning about submitting? Please reach out to me and let's try to chat at the conference.

More info in our house style sheet:πŸ—ƒοΈ commonplace.online/article/comm...

15.07.2025 16:06 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

Great idea! Can you please add me?

15.07.2025 17:15 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Might a giant bowl of hand-picked and home-grown raspberries brighten your day?

09.07.2025 12:20 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Here’s today’s harvest. A bounty of color in the midst of a heatwave.

08.07.2025 22:34 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Gardening can be very therapeutic in troubling times. Here’s yesterday’s small but mighty harvest of beans and berries.

05.07.2025 11:24 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Hey, I recognize one of those covers!

03.07.2025 01:59 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Where’s Jess? Can you find me in this photo?

28.06.2025 19:06 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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It’s a packed house for the roundtable discussion with series editors of β€œSHAFR Books”!!!

#SHAFR2025

27.06.2025 18:33 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
Two women smiling at the camera.

Two women smiling at the camera.

So happy to catch up with my pal and @uncpress.bsky.social editor @dgershenowitz.bsky.social at #SHAFR2025. We are both so excited to hold Canal Dreamers in our hot little hands later this summer.

28.06.2025 11:25 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

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