This is a great book. Written from the point of view of Martha.
Excellent insight to Thomas Jefferson. Don't know if Martha really wrote it but it is still a must read.
A recreation of the diaries of Martha Jefferson creates an intimate portrait of two fascinating people and their passionate love affair, as well as a chronicle of the revolutionary period.
From Publishers Weekly
Cast in the form of a diary written by Thomas Jefferson's wife, Martha, Grimes's first novel chronicles the years from their courtship in 1770 to her death in 1782. Atmospheric and richly detailed, with exact accounts of such contemporary activities as leaching dye and boiling soap, the novel captures the personalities of two extraordinary people and the tumult of the revolutionary war that consumed their lives. We view the conflict through the prism of Martha's sharply perceptive mind; the maneuvers of the era's famous men--George Washington, Patrick Henry and Benedict Arnold--form a well-integrated backdrop to her story. The novel also traces Martha's evolution from a self-indulgent Southern belle to an outspoken young mother with radical social views; conversations with her slave Betty on the explosive subjects of emancipation and miscegenation are revealing of the complex relationship between white and black Americans in the 18th century. Thomas Jefferson's steady rise as a lawyer, lawmaker and statesman takes second place here to his role as husband, father and lover, so shattered by his young wife's death that he never remarried. The moving tale succeeds both as gripping historical saga and powerful love story. BOMC and QPB selections.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Judge Johnson, as this overlong but still fascinating study clearly demonstrates, is one of the most influential federal jurists of this century. The history-making decisions he made during his 37-year tenure as a federal judge in Alabama not only desegregated all 118 school districts in the most segregated state in the Union but also extended the spirt and letter of the 1954 Supreme Court Brown decision to local police department hiring practices, voting rights of blacks, the administration of state mental institutions and prisons, and the ethics of the judiciary system. Though this biography meanders through the struggles and rewards of Johnson's public and private life and sometimes provides more detail than most readers might want, it sketches a vivid picture of a society undergoing deep, irrevocable changes--of which many were heavily influenced by the judge's unpopular and courageous decisions. Based on extensive interviews with Johnson and his many political friends and adversaries, this book updates and extends Robert F. Kennedy Jr's biography, Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr. ( LJ 9/15/78) and portrays an activist, highly principled judge who set into motion a social revolution. Highly recommended.
- Jack Forman, Mesa Coll. Lib., San Diego
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Publishers Weekly
Cast in the form of a diary written by Thomas Jefferson's wife, Martha, Grimes's first novel chronicles the years from their courtship in 1770 to her death in 1782. Atmospheric and richly detailed, with exact accounts of such contemporary activities as leaching dye and boiling soap, the novel captures the personalities of two extraordinary people and the tumult of the revolutionary war that consumed their lives. We view the conflict through the prism of Martha's sharply perceptive mind; the maneuvers of the era's famous men--George Washington, Patrick Henry and Benedict Arnold--form a well-integrated backdrop to her story. The novel also traces Martha's evolution from a self-indulgent Southern belle to an outspoken young mother with radical social views; conversations with her slave Betty on the explosive subjects of emancipation and miscegenation are revealing of the complex relationship between white and black Americans in the 18th century. Thomas Jefferson's steady rise as a lawyer, lawmaker and statesman takes second place here to his role as husband, father and lover, so shattered by his young wife's death that he never remarried. The moving tale succeeds both as gripping historical saga and powerful love story. BOMC and QPB selections.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Judge Johnson, as this overlong but still fascinating study clearly demonstrates, is one of the most influential federal jurists of this century. The history-making decisions he made during his 37-year tenure as a federal judge in Alabama not only desegregated all 118 school districts in the most segregated state in the Union but also extended the spirt and letter of the 1954 Supreme Court Brown decision to local police department hiring practices, voting rights of blacks, the administration of state mental institutions and prisons, and the ethics of the judiciary system. Though this biography meanders through the struggles and rewards of Johnson's public and private life and sometimes provides more detail than most readers might want, it sketches a vivid picture of a society undergoing deep, irrevocable changes--of which many were heavily influenced by the judge's unpopular and courageous decisions. Based on extensive interviews with Johnson and his many political friends and adversaries, this book updates and extends Robert F. Kennedy Jr's biography, Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr. ( LJ 9/15/78) and portrays an activist, highly principled judge who set into motion a social revolution. Highly recommended.
- Jack Forman, Mesa Coll. Lib., San Diego
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
