Title: America's First DaughterAuthor: Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis: The story of Margaret "Patsy" Jefferson, daughter of Thomas Jefferson, and her relationship with her father told from her first person point of view. This novel is written by a historical fiction author and a non-fiction author who used letters to and from Patsy Jefferson to shed light on the untold story of America's first daughter.
My Thoughts
This was a novel I saw at Books-a-Million and after reading the back cover I just had to have it. I even paid full price for it, unheard of!!
The book starts out with Patsy clearing out the house of her father, Thomas Jefferson, following his death. Thomas Jefferson was a great writer of letters and she went through all of them.
To begin each chapter, an excerpt of a letter between characters is presented to set tone for the chapter. The letters are also dated in order to let the reader comprehend the passing of time. This is super important because the novel begins in a flash back to when Patsy is 8 and ends when she is in her 70s.
I didn't know a whole lot about Thomas Jefferson's life and it is really cool to learn about it through the perspective of his eldest daughter. The novel highlights the imperitive role Jefferson played in helping to begin the French Revolution, his ever continuing improvements to Montecello, and his relationship with one of his slaves, Sally. The reader also gains insights into Patsy's French education, love life, marriage, and motherhood.
This novel is amazingly well done. The research done is impeccable and the way that fiction is used to fill in what is lost to history is seemless. There were many nights when I had to force myself to close the book in order to get enough sleep for the next day.
If you have an interest in America's Founding Fathers, the importance of the contributions of women to history and American government, or a good love story, give this book a read.
Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!
To buy this book from amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the authors, visit the websites linked above.
This was a novel I saw at Books-a-Million and after reading the back cover I just had to have it. I even paid full price for it, unheard of!!
The book starts out with Patsy clearing out the house of her father, Thomas Jefferson, following his death. Thomas Jefferson was a great writer of letters and she went through all of them.
To begin each chapter, an excerpt of a letter between characters is presented to set tone for the chapter. The letters are also dated in order to let the reader comprehend the passing of time. This is super important because the novel begins in a flash back to when Patsy is 8 and ends when she is in her 70s.
I didn't know a whole lot about Thomas Jefferson's life and it is really cool to learn about it through the perspective of his eldest daughter. The novel highlights the imperitive role Jefferson played in helping to begin the French Revolution, his ever continuing improvements to Montecello, and his relationship with one of his slaves, Sally. The reader also gains insights into Patsy's French education, love life, marriage, and motherhood.
This novel is amazingly well done. The research done is impeccable and the way that fiction is used to fill in what is lost to history is seemless. There were many nights when I had to force myself to close the book in order to get enough sleep for the next day.
If you have an interest in America's Founding Fathers, the importance of the contributions of women to history and American government, or a good love story, give this book a read.
Comment below if you have read this book or have suggestions for others like it!
To buy this book from amazon now, click on the image at the top of the post.
To see more from the authors, visit the websites linked above.
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