Dolley Madison: First Lady Book

A biography of Dolley Madison, wife of the fourth president of the United States, from her Quaker childhood to her roles as a hostess for Thomas Jefferson, First Lady, and ...

Children's Literature

This series entry explores the life of a major figure at the time the nation was young (1801-1861), using full-color as well as black-and-white historical photographs and illustrations, authentic documents, and factual, engaging text. While principally remembered as the wife of James Madison and the savior of the Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington that hung in the beleaguered executive mansion during the War of 1812, Dolley's life exemplifies Colonial era life. She was the daughter of an innkeeper, widowed by yellow fever, mother of two children, one of whom died of fever, and in a second marriage that used her many skills. Thomas Jefferson asked her to serve as his presidential hostess, his own wife having died. Dolley was beloved by Washington, but her remaining son, a gambling and greedy man, ran the Madison Virginia estate into the ground and tried to bamboozle his mother out of her money. This biography serves not only to cover the major events of Dolley Madison's life, but also serves as a lively overview of the period. Sidebars fill in with the invention of the telegraph, Dolley's role in setting the fashions of the day, and the naming of the White House. A table of contents, glossary, bibliography and index are included as well as a map and timeline, quotations from primary sources, and a publisher's omnibus Internet Web site that will be up to date with current information. The book is a good addition to the middle school shelf and features an involving format sure to interest both less able and eager readers. Part of the series, "Let Freedom Ring: The New Nation Biographies." 2003, Bridgestone Books,